Hilary Newletter 2024
Welcome to our second newsletter of the year!
As we return to Oxford for the final term of the year, our amazing Holiday Leaders have just completed the two holidays!
Although I know you're all desperate to hear about how well they went, we will publish a separate newsletter with the details of the trips soon - get excited :)))
In this newsletter, you can expect a round-up of our Hilary Term achievements, from the final stages of organising the holidays to the incredible fundraising efforts, both internally and externally, as well as details of our upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) which we hope to see you attend! We hope this newsletter is an enjoyable read, and as always, we thank you endlessly for your continued support.
Organisation of the Holidays
Last term Maya, our amazing VP (Social Services), was in contact with local schools and social services and selected the children for the holidays. We selected seventeen children for the first holiday, run by Nina (VP Leaders) and Matt (Holiday Organiser), and eighteen for the second, run by Maya and Jacob (Holiday Organiser). Both holidays were confirmed to be taking place at Home Farm in the New Forest, which we have used as a centre many times before, and is always a hit! We organised our usual range of activities from canoeing, to pottery painting, and of course, the final surprise trip to Paulton's Park. All of our leaders completed their safeguarding training, online and in-person, so once Nina, Maya, Matt, and Jacob had ransacked Tesco, everyone was ready, and eager, to complete the holidays!
Fundraising
This term we have completed a range of internal and external fundraising activities. We began the term with Bucket Shaking which showed our Holiday Leaders how fundraising for the charity works and gets the public more aware of what we do. We sold flowers in college for valentines day to spread the love and awareness around our cohort. We had a stall at the Turl Street Arts festival where we got donations from both Lincoln and Jesus College and listened to some great live performances from student bands. Nina gave an amazing speech at the parents formal dinner and collected an astonishing amount of donations. The highlight of the term was definitely our ExVac raffle where the prizes ranged from a meal for two with bubbly at the local Brasserie Blanc, to five free acupuncture sessions, to a free college ball ticket! With ExVac cocktails selling like wildfire and our incredible president Libby keeping the crowd engaged, the night turned out to be a great success.
Town and Gown
On May 12th members of Exeter College will be running the Oxford Town and Gown 10km to raise money for ExVac. This is something we have done for many years, and are very excited to be involved in again this year. Please find more information on the Just Giving Page linked below, and we really appreciate any donations!
AGM
Our annual AGM will be held this year on Sunday 2nd June, from 4-6pm in the Rector’s Garden at Exeter College. It will involve presentations from our President and Treasurer regarding our activities this year and the Vice Presidents will discuss the holidays. This will be followed by a drinks reception and formal dinner in the college's dining hall.
We are incredibly grateful to be part of ExVac and going on the holidays is such a special experience. We want to use the AGM to celebrate everyone who has been involved in ExVac in the past, and everyone who will continue to be involved in the future. It is the perfect opportunity to share stories about our different experiences and keep you informed about our plans.
We hope that this year it will be a huge success, so if you are interested in attending, please RSVP to chair@exvac.org and include any dietary requirements. It would also be great if you could share this invitation with anyone else you know who has been involved in ExVac and would like to attend the AGM. The event is always such a lovely experience for current members of the charity to meet those who made it possible that it could run for so many years! Every member's legacy lives on in the memories each child and leader makes on these trips, come to the AGM and let's exchange our favourite ExVac memories.
Donations
As always, we are grateful for any donations you are able to make to ExVac, all of which go directly towards running the holidays and making sure the children have the best time!