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Swap Shop raises funds to support our students

19 Feb 2024

Unwanted holiday gifts find new owners with proceeds going towards the Cost of Living Support Fund

Swap Shop at Atrium Place

For the second year in a row, the Careers Information and Advice Team held a New Year Swap Shop with all proceeds going towards the Cost of Living Support Fund.

The fund provides support for University of Manchester students who may be experiencing financial hardship. It's funded entirely by generous donations from supporters of our University – people just like Jenni Enobakhare and her colleague Sarah Mallen.

Jenni invited colleagues and students to join her and her team in The Atrium, University Place over lunch on Thursday, 4 January. People were encouraged to bring unwanted holiday gifts along to swap for something else. And items were also available in return for a £3 donation. Items available to swap or 'purchase' ranged from gloves to games, and cosmetics to chocolates.

Jenni said: "It was a lovely day, but I can’t take all the credit. My colleague, Sarah Mallen, organised the Swap Shop on behalf of our team last year, and she passed the mantel on to me this year. We had some great items and most of them were swapped by the end of the day. Thank you to everybody who came along.”

Emma Mochan, Head of Regular Giving in the University’s fundraising team said: "I’d like to thank Jenni and her colleagues very much for donating the proceeds of the Swap Shop to the Cost of Living Support Fund again. I’m so pleased that they chose to support our students in this way. Their generosity will help make sure no students miss out on the life-changing Manchester experience that they deserve."

If you would like to help support Manchester’s students, there are a number of ways you can contribute:

  • Donate just the pennies from your payslip by joining the University’s very own micro-giving scheme, Purple Pennies. Helping disadvantaged students at Manchester is one of the three colleague-chosen causes that Purple Pennies supports.
  • Help Manchester students overcome barriers to their education by making a gift that will help more talented people say "yes" to our University this year.
  • Support students with a tax-efficient donation through your pay via the payroll giving scheme, Purple Pounds. Giving in this special way will provide much-needed support to students facing some extremely challenging circumstances.

If you’d like to know more about how you can support Manchester’s students, please contact the University’s fundraising team at supporters@manchester.ac.uk.