Each year the Student Stop AIDS Campaign runs on just £23,000. Out of this we run the annual Student Stop AIDS Speaker Tour, the February Training, send all of our societies fresher’s packs and resources, run the March Day of Action, pay for 1 full time member of staff and 1 part time and much more.

Up until now securing income for charities has not been too difficult, but they too have been hit by the financial crisis and our ‘guaranteed’ £23,000 is now at risk.

Next time you hold a fundraising event, we would be very grateful if you could think of the work you’re doing and support the Student Stop AIDS Campaign.
For tips on fundraising or more about the rules and regulations of fundraising please go to our website www.stopaidssocieties.org.uk/.

The better the communication channels are the less admin and chasing needs to be done by head office – this means more time and money spent on making the SSAC an exciting and engaging campaign, so we are in the process of overhauling the Stop AIDS communications channels.

What are the new measures we are taking?

Facebook Fan page – we want everyone interested in SSAC to join this group and post pictures, videos, and updates on what your campaign groups are doing, as well as to have discussions and share ideas.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Student-Stop-AIDS-Campaign/297916947305?ref=nf

Twitter – we have just started a SSAC twitter account, lets try and get as many people following this as possible to spread the word. www.twitter.com/studentstopaids

Website - We are currently in the process of updating the website as well. We are trying to update all the resources so you will have access to appropriate information on lobbying, campaigning, running societies, media work, events, fundraising, motivating volunteers, organising public meetings etc

If you have anything you think should be made into a resource then email us: www.stopaidssocieties.org.uk

5km race in Regents Park, London

Fancy Dress run as a superhero!

£20 registration fee

Suggested fundraising target of £100

Email: liz.west@spw.org

400m swim, 15km cycle, 5km run

Do it as an individual or in a team of 3!

Each individual commits to raising £225 for SPW

Lots of fun! Perfect for first timers

Prizes for fancy dress, ‘best spirit’ and best fundraiser

Registration fee of £35

Sign up: www.spwtriathlon.com

After an intensive training day in London, Grad Trainers will be paired with societies, visiting them throughout the year to conduct training sessions on the campaign issues and key campaigning skills based on their needs. This is a great way to stay involved in the campaign and to develop crucial skills

Commitment:

• Trainers need to be able to commit to a full day’s training in London at the end of the summer (tbc)
  During the autumn and spring terms trainers will be expected to deliver at least 2 training sessions.

Support:

• Trainers will receive training to equip you to facilitate sessions on key campaigning skills and society mobilisation at a campus level
• You will receive a campaign pack with materials and session plans to enable you to deliver the training sessions to Stop AIDS Societies
• SPW will cover your expenses for the training day and travel to the societies to deliver the training sessions
• We will give you on going telephone and email support

For more information or to request an application form, please contact Jane at jane.broomfield@spw.org.

Pull on your green tights, decorate your masks, grab your bow and arrows and… COME MEET TALK TO THE PEOPLE WHO COUNT.

This years March Day of Action is taking place on Tuesday 16th of March at 10.30am and is going to action packed and super fun, so book your travel down now!

At 11.00am there will be a short briefing for all, then at 12.00pm the Student Stop AIDS Campaign will be meeting Mike Foster MP the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, Michael Moore the Shadow Secretary of State (Lib Dems) and  (Conservatives). This will be an opportunity discuss the views of the three main parties on the gap in HIV financing, including financing mechanisms such as the Patent Pool and Robin Hood Tax and ask them questions on these issues.

In the afternoon you will have 4 hours to meet with your own MP and discuss these issues with them in person. We will also set you a photo challenge to try and get photos of a statue, a banker, an MP, a celebrity and an animal in a green mask.

Then the day will end with a MASS roller-skate round the financial sector. So bring your Robin Hood outfit, and we’ll be joined by others from the wider Robin Hood Facebook group as we skate past the famous sites of The City, hoping to get a bit of media attention too!

The day is set to be the best March Day of Action EVER so make sure you don’t miss out!

Book your travel now, SPW will be able to pay for the first £25 of everyone’s travel.

WE WANT TO HOLD ELECTIONS WITHIN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS!

This is a fantastic opportunity to learn in-depth about the HIV pandemic, to liaise and meet with top campaigners, researchers and policy experts from all the big NGOs, and play a crucial part in coordinating the strategy and running the Student Stop AIDS Campaign.

If you would like to nominate yourself for the steering committee rep for the Home Counties or South West region please send a couple of paragraphs to me outlining your involvement with the Stop AIDS Campaign and why you would like to join the steering committee. For more information please contact me at jane.broomfield@spw.org.

A steering committee is a group of young people which represent a group of societies. Their role is to attend national Stop Aids Campaign meetings to ensure that the students view is represented and quarterly Student Stop AIDS meeting to help us plan the next few months.

Each steering committee representative represents the 4 –6 universities in their region, and is responsible for keeping in regular contact with all their groups. Your representative will ensure you are up-to-date with the latest campaign information, help provide support to you where needed and help to organise regional training and campaign activities.

So who is your rep??

Nicola Bradley is the rep for the South East, so if you’re university group is in London or Brighton. Nicola has been part of Student Stop AIDS for many years involved in both the Brighton and Bristol groups.

Shirley Lennon is the rep for the South Coast, the universities in this region are Southampton, Bournemouth, Exeter and Plymouth. Shirley is very new to the Stop AIDS Campaign and is helping to set up a society in Plymouth.

Phil Fairclough is the rep for the Midlands, this region is made up of Nottingham, Birmingham, Warwick and Leicester. Phil has been president of Nottingham Stop AIDS for the last year.

Jake Shepherd is the representative for the first of the northern regions, he represents Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool. Jake has been an active member of the Sheffield society for the last few years.

Cat Currie is the Scottish rep, and that region’s quite self explanatory. This is very exciting as this is the first year when Scottish region means more than just Edinburgh and Scotland! Cat is part of Edinburgh Stop AIDS.

Andrea Thompson is the rep for the second northern region, so if you’re university is in Leeds, Lancaster or Newcastle. Andrea has been part of Leeds Stop AIDS for the last couple of years.

However at the 2009 UNITAID meeting some conditions were created, which means that, if by December 2010 the conditions have not been met,  there will be another look at whether we should go ahead with the patent pool proposal. Obviously we do not want to see the patent pool fail, so it has been suggested that we give them some time to talk before coming back to UNITAID in the summer to see how discussions with Pharma are going and see how we can best help from then.

In the mean time many of you may have heard about the Robin Hood Tax, this is a new campaign launched by a coalition of organisations. The tax would be aimed at all global financial transaction such as global currency exchanges, derivatives, stocks and shares etc, and would be set at 0.05%!

The Tax would look to bring in £400 Billion a year. This would be split 50% going to domestic issues such as child poverty, 25% for climate change, and 25% for the health Millennium Development Goals. £100 Billion for the health MDGS would be amazing and if channeled through the Global Fund, as we are pushing for, would help to prevent the funding gap currently facing the fund!

At the February Training everyone sat down together to discuss the pro’s and con’s of the Student Stop AIDS Campaign supporting the Robin Hood Tax, and it was agreed that this was something we should do!

Please see http://www.robinhoodtax.org.uk and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYtNwmXKIvM for more information.