Grand Challenges 2022

Community Chest

Community Chest is a scheme aiming to highlight to homeless people in Exeter the resources available to them, such as where to set up a ‘no fixed address’ bank account, where they can access the internet and the nearest foodbank. This information is conveyed in the form of a brochure. They then planned to use student volunteers to further disseminate and improve their information. This involved students volunteering at information centres for the homeless, on panels where they could speak to homeless people to better tailor the initiative’s information to their current needs and on Forum stalls to gather more volunteers. They planned to encourage student participation by a volunteering rewards scheme, where participants would receive digital certificates based on how long they’d been volunteering. During the week, the group spent time considering volunteer safety, safety for those using the scheme, and the more practical elements of the scheme, such as where to set up stands.