Be The Change was founded in 2010 by a group of students who wanted to make a difference and bring about change both in the local area and internationally. We've already got exciting projects for students to get involved in and have won the Students' Guild 2012 ‘Best Campaigning and Volunteering Society’, 2013 ‘Best Campaign’, 2014 ‘Community Impact Award’, and 2016 ‘Campaign of the Year’!
We work in a project-based approach and have 3 running at the moment; this year, our members-driven focus is on environmental sustainability:
1) Project Waste: https://www.facebook.com/groups/402253420707676/?source_id=160180490677241
Reducing waste and encouraging recycling on campus.
2) Project Food: https://www.facebook.com/groups/559477941523451/
Promoting a more vegetable-based diet, reducing food waste, and reintroducing vegshare on campus.
3) Project Ecobricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/514381009354080/
Raising awareness about what ecobricks are through collecting materials on campus, and the contruction of a sculpture in the forum.
And remember, if you have something, local or global, you'd like to see change, then we can also help to set up your own project to make this happen!
For anyone looking to get involved in a society where you can make a sustainable difference Be The Change is the place to be!
Some of our previous projects include:
Project Slow Fashion: raising awareness about the impacts of the fashion industry, and launching a clothes sharing platform, Nu.
Project Sustainability: (previously Project Big Rubbish) promoting environmental sustainablity (e.g. waste reduction, transport carbon-footprint, consumerism behaviour) through campaigns, panel talks, and workshops.
Project Refugee: sharing knowledge on global and regional refugee situations (via campaigns, talks, collaboration with other organisations) and volunteering (e.g. RAFT warehouse in Taunton) to facilitate positive aid.
Project Habitat: volunteering with the homeless in Exeter.
Project Fairtrade: raising awareness of Fairtrade values and products.
Project Congo: raising awarness of the devasting conflict and the link to blood minerals used in all our electronics.
Project Cocoa: promoting fair trade chocolate on campus, both in the campus shops and vending machines around campus; raising awareness about the use of child labour in the cocoa industry.
Check out www.facebook.com/btcexeter, our website bethechangeexeter.weebly.com and our blog https://bethechange95.wixsite.com/blog?fbclid=IwAR3IYCI0W8E909-nMVM8hXWpn2kJMIfykmd3KiUgU_qEYu-FQUd_BywIZ8g for more information!
You can also find us @bethechange.exeter on Instagram and @BeTheChangeUoE on Twitter.
{Our 2019/20 Aims and Objectives}
- Continue to facilitate members to make a sustainable and ethical difference socially, economically and/or environmentally, using our project-based approach.
- Maximising high-quality, lasting changes via our members-chosen projects. This year, our members-driven focus is on environmental sustainability.
- Instilling leadership, negotiation, and other "core competencies" in our members.
- Aiming to get the Students' Guild Campaign of the Year in 2019/20.