Students got to know each other in an explosively colourful way in a Leicester park, raising more than £1,100 for some of India’s poorest children in the process.
New and returning students at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) took part in ColourFest, lobbing handfuls of brightly-hued powder at each other in a celebration inspired by the Hindu festival of Holi.
The event drew hundreds to Leicester’s Bede Park, for one of a series of events organised by De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU) for the annual Freshers’ festival, #FreshFest16.
The event students donate £1 for coloured powders to throw at each other, creating a vibrant scene. Cost of colour powders for the event all contributed to the fund.
Square Mile India funding supports the Ghandi Ashram in Gujarat, paying for food, clean water, medical supplies and providing teaching for 120 students.
Stephen Angell, a second year Economics and Politics student was one of many students who volunteered to work at the event. He said: “We are very thankful for everyone who took part in the event.
“It rained for 15 minutes just before we started and we were a little bit worried students might not want to brave the weather.
“However, the sun soon came out and it was a great atmosphere with students from all years coming together and having a good time.”
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Following the event Stephen took to social media to thank those who took part. He added: “Square Mile India is an excellent cause, not only does it work to improve the lives of so many Indian people, but it provides students with an opportunity to travel to new places, meet new people and gain new perspectives.”
DSU President, Dan Winney, visited the DMU Square Mile office on Monday afternoon to present a cheque for the total raised for the fund.
He said: “This was just one of a wide range of #FreshFest16 events, and we love having such diverse events on campus.
“It’s good to support such a great initiative with charitable student donations.”
Sam Wright, Community Partnerships Coordinator for Square Mile said: “The turnout at ColourFest was phenomenal.
“I would like to thank every single student who turned out and supported the project, we really appreciate their contributions.”
You can view the full album of photos from Sunday’s #FreshFest16 event on DSU’S Facebook page.
Follow @SquareMileIndia on Twitter to see how students charitable donations are being used in the areas the project supports.
Posted on Wednesday 28 September 2016