Students from Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union (FXU) have raised over £3,000 for MIND in recent weeks.

Last weekend, eight teams of students were packed into a blacked-out coach and dropped off in a mysterious location as part of FXU RAD’s (Raise and Donate) annual ‘LOST’ event. As part of the challenge, they then raced to get back to campus with no money and no means of communicating with the outside world. Teams were also given a list of challenges to complete en-route, which helped to reduce their final time.

The teams were dropped in an unmarked location just south of Widemouth Bay, with nothing but sea and fields around them. Every student was back on campus by 5pm – record time. One team, Where’s Fally, even managed to complete 31 challenges along the way. The fundraising total for the Lost challenge stands at over £2,000.

Hannah Smith, RAD president, said: “The LOST event was very successful. The support we had from the public was fantastic. Keep an eye out for our next big event coming soon."

Another group of students raised over £1,000 with a sponsored head shave. Kayleigh Harris, Nic Hamon, Sam Lefroy and Tony Sims wanted to raise awareness of, and funds for, mental health charity MIND.

According to MIND, every year, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem. But hundreds of thousands of people are still struggling. To represent how urgent this statistic is, the group of four students pledged to shave their hair to raise awareness.

Crowds gathered in Beerwolf Books as the group went under the razor. They raised over £200 on the day, which, when added to their JustGiving total, brings their current amount raised to £1,220.50, smashing their initial target of £750.

Nic said: “We’d like to thank everyone who has supported us throughout our fundraising, either by donating, coming to our event or just with moral support. We really appreciate everyone's incredible generosity.”

Earlier in the term, the FXU Expedition Society held a charity walk, the Hard as Nails Challenge, when they walked form Falmouth to Coverack in one day. Together the team raised over £700, which will be split between Mind and the South West Coast Path Association.

Kristy Wallace, FXU volunteering and RAD manager, said: “I was so happy to hear that RAD wanted to support MIND this year. It’s such a deserving cause and one that many people can really relate to. There has been a fundraising buzz about campus and we hope to raise at least £5,000 for the charity by the end of the academic year.

"A huge thank you to any members of the local community who have supported our student fundraising activities, to Williams travel for providing coaches, Cornwall Segway, Kernow Wake Park and Great Shakes for supporting with fantastic prizes.”

MIND is FXU Raise and Donate (RAD’s) Charity of the Year, as chosen by the students.