One step at a time results in impressive fundraising total for Emergency Care Society

GCU Students’ Association’s Emergency Care Society are finding their feet throughout March by walking and running to raise money for charity.

Seventeen Paramedic students across all three year groups have teamed up to combine their steps and donations in a show of support for The Ambulance Staff Charity, also known as TASC.

Emergency Care Society (ECS) committee member and final year BSc Paramedic Science student Caitlin Cameron has been helping to organise the fundraiser and explained more about the idea behind it.

She said: “I completed a degree in sport and physical activity before coming to study at Glasgow Caledonian University.

“A lot of the coursework focused on how regular physical activity helps your mental health and stops you getting diseases. The importance is the actual frequency of activity. Someone who runs 10k once a week but sits at their desk for the rest of the week is much more likely to suffer from a serious disease than someone who regularly goes out for a walk and doesn’t sit for long periods.”

Caitlin added: “I’ve met a lot of paramedics who aren’t the fittest and mental health is also a real issue within the profession. When you do three or four 12-hour shifts in a row, you really don’t want to do anything on your day off.

“My two degrees have made me aware how much physical activity can improve both physical and mental health, so I wanted to use this as a way of helping us while also raising money.”

The task of walking and running as much as possible over a five-week period may seem like a relatively simple one to some, but the demands of coursework and placement means it can be difficult for the students to find a spare moment. Luckily, Caitlin came up with an innovative solution.

She explained: “We have podcasts to listen to as part of our coursework, so I put that on when I’m heading out.

“You can still be doing useful work but away from sitting at a desk or glued to a screen. It’s a great way to keep learning while doing something for your health.”

Caitlin and the rest of the Emergency Care Society initially set their fundraising target at £250; however, an influx of donations from friends, family and colleagues has led to them raising over £1000, with more than a week still to go.

Whatever the final total may be, the Society are well aware that every penny received will be put to good use by TASC.

Caitlin said: “The Ambulance Staff Charity supports so many of our colleagues and will support us in the future. They cover a variety of different areas, including mental health and physical rehabilitation if a paramedic was to have some sort of injury. Their work is the perfect fit for what we’re doing over the course of the month.”

Weekly prizes have also acted as an added incentive for participants to head out into the great outdoors.

Caitlin explained: “One of the weekly prizes was a two-day outdoor first aid course. There’s also a Mental Health for Paramedicine book up for grabs. We’ve got two donations from Openhouse: one is a paramedic kitbag and the other is a backpack. We also attend a University of St Andrew’s anatomy event each May, so there will be a ticket on offer for that.

“There will of course also be an overall prize for whoever covers the furthest distance throughout the five weeks.”

Caitlin added: “It’s been interesting to see the effort everyone has gone to. There’s been some people that have ran a few 10ks. Obviously some of our students are quite into their running but it will hopefully encourage others to do a bit extra - even if it’s just walking to the shops instead of taking the car.”

You can donate to the Emergency Care Society’s fundraiser here

By Ross Clark     
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter