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Supporting Student Citizenship within the Community

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Woman holding a 'Welcome to Leeds' booklet

Leeds is a brilliant, vibrant city that’s home to a multitude of diverse communities and is a great place to call home. For many, living in Leeds independently for the first time can also be overwhelming. The Student Citizenship team at University of Leeds look to support students through various initiatives to help settle into the local community.

Moving Out Campaign

Last June, in partnership with Leeds Beckett University, Unipol and Leeds City Council, we helped students to reduce negative social and environmental impacts during the tenancy changeover period by providing advice and running a doorstep collection service for donatable items. 

The campaign saw a team of seven Moving Out Ambassadors delivering 7,000 leaflets and blue bags, as well as knocking on 2,500 doors in the inner north west Leeds area, sharing information on how to pass on items that they no longer needed.   

A total of 924 bags of donations were collected, split between blue bag doorstep collections and British Heart Foundation donation banks across the area. 332 people made use of free shops at Rainbow Junktion, with further donations being shared with local British Heart Foundation and Salvation Army charity shops.  

Woman holding blue bags and leaflets knocking on a door

 

Welcome to Leeds Campaign

As part of our annual Welcome to Leeds campaign in October, 17 community ambassadors visited students and residents to offer advice and support about living in Leeds.  Our ambassadors delivered the Make this Place Your Home guide which provides lots of useful information about getting to know the local area, living sustainably and being a good neighbour to 2,500 homes across 6 days.  

The guide includes information on staying safe, local organisations to get involved with, useful contact numbers and how to deal with bills, waste, noise or anti-social behaviour issues.   

It also outlines the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) that is in place across parts of inner north-west Leeds, which means that some behaviours in the area are classed as criminal offences and can have significant consequences. 

Woman stood smiling with an umbrella with a rainbow in the background.

In total, our team had doorstep chats at 646 homes and we were so pleased with the conversations people wanted to have. Helpful information was delivered directly through people's doors and any concerns and feedback were reported back to the University which will help us deliver future campaigns.

– Claire Walker, Student Citizenship Project Officer 

To further support student citizenship within the community, students have been volunteering their time at our monthly Hyde Park litter picks to help create a better environment for people and the wildlife. We will also be encouraging students to reduce food waste by supporting local food drives. More information on this will be available soon.

A group of students smiling, holding litter pickers and rubbish bags.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our work on Positive Impact Partners is linked to the following SDGs:

      • Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
      • Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
      • Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
      • Goal 17: Partnerships

Find out more about our impact on the SDGs.