Sixty Gates Cambridge Scholars have taken part in this year's Day of Engagement.
Sixty Gates Cambridge Scholars took part in this year's Day of Engagement in early March.
Joined by five guests, they worked with six local and two international charities on 11 different projects. The charities involved included Bounce! which works with disadvantaged children, Romsey Mill which creates opportunities for change with young people, children and families in Cambridgeshire, the homeless charity Wintercomfort, LinkAges which works with the elderly and CamCRAG Project, an organisation for refugees.
The activities the scholars took part in included sewing blanket ponchos for refugees – almost 20 ponchos were sewn by scholars. They also researched more sustainable waterproof material for ponchos.
At Zooinverse, a citizen science web portal owned and operated by the Citizen Science Alliance, they analysed data for three different projects. Scholars working with Edible Garden put up a shed and raised beds for a community garden.
At Romsey Mill and Wintercomfort scholars decorated and cleaned the charities' buildings.
At Cambridge Hub, a student-led organisation dedicated to volunteering and community opportunities, they transcribed interviews linked to the 'Breaking the Silence' project which aims to end all forms of sexual misconduct at the University of Cambridge; at the Cogwheel Trust, which provides counselling and psychotherapy support for people in Cambridgeshire, they researched possible business partners; and at Street Child UK they conducted data analysis.
Mine Koprulu, Gates Council Community Officer, said: "We are at Cambridge as Gates Scholars because we are willing to improve the lives of others. In addition to the things we all do on a daily basis, the Annual Day of Engagement provides an opportunity for us to come together and give back to our local community."
*Picture of scholars at the CamCRAG Project.
