For the second year running, students from Victoria University have teamed up with mentors from the Seddon Community Bank Branch and Inner West Community Enterprises, to break last semester’s record fundraising tally to well over $4,000!

Starting with seed funding of $250, each team created three fundraising events each to raise not just funds but also community awareness for local community organisations Green Collect, Yarraville Community Centre, Foodbank & Youth Junction inc.,

Activities ranged from a selfie scavenger hunt, a movie night, a bike riding marathon, local primary school free dress days to a trivia night.

While each team faced individual challenges, none compared to Team Elite, a group of students from Malaysia, who took on the charity challenge after only arriving in Melbourne for two weeks earlier. They said the challenge was a great opportunity to get off-campus, meet people outside of VU and understand more about Australian culture and community while also supporting a cause they are all passionate about – environment and sustainability – via fundraising for Green Collect.

Reaching a fundraising target of over $4,000 was a brilliant outcome for everyone involved but each group reported that building relationships, new skills and awareness were big take aways from the experience. “It was fun. It just felt really good to be involved and make a difference. I’d do it again tomorrow.” said Eren, representing Team Five.