QUB RAG

QUB RAG is the official fundraising group of the Students’ Union - bringing Queen’s students together to make the world a better place! Students at Queen’s are automatically a member of RAG, and each year it’s led by a committee of dedicated, passionate, and lively volunteers.

RAG helps students give back to the communities and causes that they’re passionate about, all while having fun and making new friends. RAG organises student fundraising events, activities and competitions that are slightly beyond the norm!

Each year, the entire student body votes for RAG's charities as part of the Student Leader Elections. This year our students chose:

Pure Mental NI
An entirely youth-led charity campaigning for mental health education and early intervention in Northern Ireland's primary and secondary schools.
Find out more here.

Homeplus
Homeplus NI is a Belfast-based charity working with refugees, asylum seekers, destitute migrant workers and homeless people - some of Belfast's most vulnerable individuals.
Find out more here.

The following have been shortlisted as your 2023/24 RAG Charities:

Brainwaves NI

Brainwaves NI is the only volunteer led brain tumour charity in Northern Ireland.  Charities tend to focus on research, so we are unique in that in addition to providing significant research funding we also provide support to our members by bringing them together. 

Brain cancer is the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 so it can impact on the QUB student body.  We know of member connections where young people have died of the disease.  Raising awareness within QUB may help to build research capacity in the future and make students aware of the risks.

Cara-Friend

Cara-Friend services benefit LGBTQI+ students, teachers, and the wider community through delivering youth services, LGBTQI+ awareness and anti-bullying workshops, community events and much more. Our partnership with Queen’s on the Queer NI project, and our ability to offer placement opportunities to students, has helped us to grow and develop our relationship with Queen’s. A vote for Cara-Friend helps us combat rising costs of heat, light, and supplies while we develop innovative new events and activities with Queen’s students as part of Belfast Pride 2023.

Cavaliers in Need

Cavaliers in Need is a local dog rescue with the right pedigree to be one of QUB’s RAG charities in 22/23.  We’ve rescued, rehabilitated and rehomed over 2500 dogs who needed our help.  We’re committed to improving student well being and stress management by running regular petting days in the student’s union.  It’s a win win for students and doggos and your vote will help us ensure that we can continue to support the dogs who need rescuing from puppy farms and neglect.

The Cithrah Foundation

The Cithrah Foundation is a Christian charity based in Carrickfergus. Our primary objective is to meet the needs of individuals and families, from all backgrounds, whose lives have been impacted by domestic abuse. We offer temporary accommodation, counselling, support services, advice and benefits support, and group work to encourage people who have gone through similar experiences to come together to develop friendships and find a way of changing their lives for the better. From 01/10/2021-30/09/2022 there were 33,108 incidents of domestic abuse recorded in Northern Ireland, an increase of 5.3% on the previous year, equating to 1 in 4 families experiencing domestic abuse.

The Cithrah Foundation relies on donations and funding to continue to support a growing number of people who are suffering, to educate people on what the various forms of domestic abuse are and to raise awareness that help is available.

Fighting Words NI

Since 2015, Fighting Words Northern Ireland has been a force for creativity in Northern Ireland and beyond, providing over 14,000 creative writing opportunities for schools, youth groups and young writers aged 6 to 18. We use the creative practice of writing and storytelling to strengthen our young people to be resilient, creative, successful shapers of their own lives, using a unique, evidence-based model. We want to encourage the boundless possibilities of the power of creative writing to create a more inclusive, creative and diverse society, made up of more confident, resilient and capable young people, offering support during uncertain global crises. Our aim is to become a leading player within the education sector and civic society in Northern Ireland, and advocate for effective writing practices and creative skills development in the curriculum. Becoming a QUB RAG partner would be both an incredible honour and an exciting opportunity to combine your creativity and ours to impact the lives of young people across Northern Ireland.

Hope 4 Life NI

Hope 4 Life NI is a small grassroots charity, with a dedicated team, who have delivered mental health and suicide prevention workshops to 28,000 young people and supported over 7,000 on our after-hours online support line. Your vote will help us deliver vital, life-saving Uberheroes workshops which share true stories of local young people, encouraging conversations on lifes challenges and mental health struggles, teaching valuable lessons, through superhero style comics, creative character development, role play and fun!

These workshops prepare young people to thrive in the future, through their newfound coping skills, problem solving strategies and mental health protection and maintenance techniques.

**Two will be elected as your 2023/24 charities via the all-student vote on Mon 6 - Thu 9 March.**