DUSA’s #sleepless60 raises more than £3000

Published On Fri 24 Oct 2014 by Grant Hill

A marathon effort by student radio presenters from the University of Dundee saw them sacrifice zzz’s in order to raise £££’s for Dundee’s Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (WRASAC). 

Megan Williams, Laura Glasgow, Jonathon West, Kevin Hart and Iain MacKinnon took on the mammoth task of completing 60 hours of continuous live internet radio broadcasting from Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA) in aid of this year’s Raising and Giving (RAG) campaign.

The five presenters began their challenge at 12 noon on Friday, 3rd October, with all of them managing to last right until midnight on the Monday morning. The schedule for the weekend was completely full, with the show featuring various guests from the University such as Professors Sue Black and Trevor Harley.

The total amount of money raised over the course of the weekend was £3,151. Students voted for 2014’s RAG charity to be WRASAC, any more events will take place to raise funds for the organisation.

The presenters were left exhausted by their marathon effort with Iain MacKinnon, who is also President of DUSA, saying, “The weekend was one of the most gruelling experiences of my life, but also one of the most rewarding.

“I began the challenge not knowing some of my fellow presenters and have now made some great friends, and the fact that we also raised over £3000 for such a worthwhile cause is a fantastic result. I am incredibly proud of everyone involved.”

The radio show also provided the opportunity for the students to reach out and engage with the wider Dundee community, with a number of local councillors and MPs invited on the show such as Jim McGovern, Fraser McPherson and Joe Fitzpatrick. 

Vice President of Communications and Campaigns Zuchaela Smylie said, “This is the second year that DUSA has hosted its Marathon Radio Show. It has proven to be a great success in raising money for this worthwhile cause. I hope that it will continue to be a yearly event held at DUSA.”

Douglas Schreiber, Vice President of Student Activities and co-ordinator of the RAG effort, commented, “ It has been a great privilege to once again kick off the Raising and Giving effort with such a bang. We managed to increase on the amount of money raised last year by over £500. This is only the beginning of our campaign and we hope that we can only further increase the amount of money raised for WRASAC.”

Donations in recognition of the students’ efforts can still be made at https://www.justgiving.com/DUSA-Sleepless-Sixty/.

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