GCU student wins big at Herald Higher Education Awards for combining football with tackling food poverty
A GCU student has been recognised by a national Higher Education award body for his help in running a community football team which focuses on tackling food poverty.
Fourth year BEng (Hons) Computer Networking student Liam Cairney has helped create Glasgow Saints FC, a community football team in Dennistoun, after identifying the benefits of local football. Realising the opportunities that the football team could bring, they decided to use their position to help tackle a local issue – food poverty.
With the help of the players, they started donating to foodbanks and local charitable causes – resulting in the team becoming a charity themselves.
Liam, who applied all of his hard work towards GCU’s Common Good Award, was nominated for the “Outstanding Contribution from a University Student” category in the Herald Higher Education Awards 2022. Much to his surprise, he was chosen as the winner of the award and proudly accepted on behalf of Glasgow Saints FC.
Liam was shocked to have received the award, but is happy to know that their hard work has been nationally recognised. He said: “It was really surprising! There were other people nominated for the category that have done so much good work so it’s been really nice to be recognized – even though I didn’t expect it at all.”
He added: “Having the national recognition for the work we have done is pretty exciting, and it’s also a great opportunity for us to secure more funding. This would help us do even more for the community, help as many people as we can and create more access for people to be involved in football. The goal is to try and eradicate the need for foodbanks. We obviously won’t be able to do that on our level, however if we can do a little bit to help then that would be really good.”
Realising the benefits of local volunteering, Liam highly recommends for other students to do their bit in helping their local communities. He said: “Try and find something in your local area that you can contribute to, and using the power of social media can be really helpful in sourcing more people to get involved as well – it’s what we used to find our players for the football team.
I get that students are especially busy and have a lot going on with their studies, but doing that little bit extra can make both yourself and other people feel better. It’s really good knowing that you’re giving something back, and on top of that it allows you to bring something different when applying for jobs. Employers really like to hear about community work and it shows that kind of person you are.”
Liam is very grateful for the support of those behind the Common Good Award programme at GCU, commenting on how encouraging they have been throughout the process. He said: “The team behind the Common Good Award have all been fantastic, and it was really good to actually meet them in person after working with them virtually!
They’ve been supportive through the entire process of applying to the Common Good Award, so it’s been really good to get to know them. On the night of the award ceremony, they really looked after me and were very encouraging. They were very confident in me, when I definitely wasn’t! They have been so enthusiastic about the work we have been doing and how we can maximize the opportunities for the club. “
By Rachael McAlonan
Got a SCEBE or GSBS story? Email me at Rachael.McAlonan@gcu.ac.uk or connect with me on social media here