For some folks DUCK is immense. It gives them opportunities to do crazy stuff, experiences beyond imagining, from climbing Everest to rafting the Wear, the kinds of skills and experiences that guarantee jobs, It does an awful lot of worthwhile stuff, funny stuff and makes a huge difference to charities.

To some people DUCK is a blight, constantly begging, rude and crass, insistent, mithering and distracting, non-transparent and dubious in costs and proceeds.

The first lot of opinion makes you really excited and happy… and the second lot just makes you want to wind it all up, go the swan and three and drink beer. An easy road out is to do less, bother people less, raise less and organise less.

And I’m going to try my best to convince you that’s not how it has to be.

DUCK: Something to be proud of

I’m a firm believer that DUCK isn’t doing too much or working too hard, but maybe it’s working in the wrong places. If you look at DUCK’s revenue streams you can see there are loads of un-tapped sources of cash that will be easier for reps and exec to get into without having to bother the same old (poor) students.

• Lets make 20% less effort on student events that don’t raise, and 10% more instead on community events that do. “Quality not quantity”
• Better communication: does one college rep know that the event they are planning just went belly up in the college next door? Probably not. Does the college rep trying to get folks involved in marathons know when the next one is, who it’s for and when they have to sign up? Is not knowing gonna help?
• Through DUCK’s reputation with locals and it’s unique position between town and gown, lets make people feel better, not hassled. Show locals students aren’t all bad- and take their cash in the process.

DUCK: Something we all own

A victim of its own professionalism, students see DUCK as an almost outside institution they might buy services from. Yes, some students will always be more committed to the committee than others- but our (the whole of Durham University) collective fundraising efforts need to be a shared achievement. Students supporting DUCK need to feel they are investing in something they own, not giving to a society their friends are members on.

We need to work out how to give DUCK back.

Why?

• Because it is. DUCK is the face of Durham Students’ charity. Not a society. No-one ever has to become a member, ‘join,’ or sign up to something.
• Because it is Durham students that make it what it is- everyone who chips into a bucket or buys a DUCK race ticket. Everyone. Not just the exec, not just reps. (We elect those to facilitate things, but they aren’t ‘who DUCK is’
• Because it’s going to help DUCK raise more money- it’s difficult to be excited about how much someone else’s society raised last week. It’s great to celebrate what we, as Durham students, have all participated in. If don’t feel like I’m subsidising someone’s charity addiction but taking part in something I own, I’m more likely to give, I’m more likely to give more, and I’m more likely to feel happier about it.
• DUCK doesn’t need 10 people to each raise a squillion pounds. It needs to foster across all students an attitude which gets behind charities in a small or big way.

Ok, I believe you! So how, Mr. Bright-ideas?

That answer is long and open ended… and some of it includes:

• More transparency. Not just availability of data, but active publishing of information. An article in Palatinate from a charity DUCK supported. A confession maybe of a cock-up that didn’t take. A clear explanation of costs and where my money goes! The charities that take the money need to appear on the promo publicity, where applicable.
• More student events. I mean, events that students actually like. Like going paintballing, getting sponsorship to do it cheap, then taxing the tickets to raise more for charity.
• More participation with societies- DUCK expressions in theatre, student journalism and the arts.

So, you have any ideas?

There are always so many things to learn. Someone nice comes along and writes everything in a condensed package, but it’s so darn big, you never end up reading it.

Download: College-Reps Info Pack (0.2MB)

Getting through to freshers ASAP is crucial, and one the easiest ways to do it is to get something into the freshers’ handbook. Here is mine from last year, but it’s by no means the best or only way. The key things are getting in: what is DUCK, why it’s important, and who you (their college rep) is. I was also SCA rep so it’s all mixed in.

This is the bit that was next to my headshot….

Welcome to Cuth’s- I know you’re going to love it. In your face. Twice.
My name is Alex Howell and I’m your friendly college rep for DUCK – Durham University Charities Kommittee and the SCA- Student Community Action.
I hope this year you’ll take advantage of having copious amounts of free time, a lack of any kind of responsibility and perhaps even lacking dignity, to spend some time helping out with SCA volunteering or raising loads of dosh for charity through Duck’s activities of doubtful legality. But most of all I hope you’ll enjoy your year!
DUCK isn’t just for do-gooders or people who can’t spell- there’s hitchhikes to Morocco, published nudity and the infamous Duck race. SCA is also a great way to get involved locally, get some CV fodder and generally feel less of a spare part.
Uni gets better the more you get involved- but whatever you get up to I want to say welcome and wish you all the best for one of the best years of your life- FACT!
Any Questions? I’m alex.howell@dur.ac.uk Fill up my inbox. I dare you.

And this the bit more specifically about DUCK

Durham University Charities Committee (nicely shortened to DUCK cos it’s shorter and rhymes better) is not just for do-gooders who can’t spell. Through various activities of doubtful legality, from hitch-hiking to Manchester, Morrocco or the Maldives, to doing it on street corners in Newcastle (fundraising, that is, not STD swapping), DUCK is our uni’s fun and mostly innocent way of making up to £300,000 a year for charities.
Getting involved with DUCK honestly is the best way of having a laugh at uni. There are opportunities for running marathons, expeditions in China and India, sponsored nudity and skydiving (not both at once!), to name but a few. Through DUCK stuff you’ll meet loads of new friends (maybe a few mentalists too), get some bizarre stories to tell down the pub, possibly some mild scarring, and a year of fun. I really would urge you to get involved- you’ll never regret it.
And even if you do, what comes free is the knowledge you are helping raise serious cash for charities such as Cancer Care, Water Aid and other more local ones- last year about a quarter of a million quid.
One important thing to watch out for is DUCK week- seven days of bizarre events and copious fundraising in February. This week includes the jailbreak, where the challenge is to get as far away as possible without spending any cash- the winners usually make the US or eastern Asia, and the world famous Duck Race.
This year within Cuth’s we’re hoping to arrange DUCK ents like Mr. and Mrs. Cuth’s, and DUCK nights in the bar- so come down and get involved.
As Cuth’s DUCK rep for this year, (elected in a farse that makes Zimbabwe look democratic), I could probably surmise this section as follows:
Give me all your cash. It’s what student loans are for, and it’s for charity.

The trick is speaking to your VP or whoever is responsible for the college handbook in good time.

Yesterday all the students cleared out of Durham, with their parents in tow. I headed into town on behalf of the JDRF (yes, quite), hoping to clear out their pockets. With my usual attire (inflatable DUCK atop head) I expected to do well- I did better than Ant but did pretty badly.

As the day wore on, Laura (legend) joined in and we resorted to busking. A guitar, strummed till it bled, failed to improve the luck- earnings from four hours? About 20 quid.

It’s pretty clear there are some PR problems:

1. Students don’t like rag-raiding- rag-raiding has a PR problem in the uni. Ouch. But it’s true!
2. Some charities (like JDRF) don’t have that great a reputation, and raising cash for them is an uphill struggle.
3. People out on the street don’t always connect with the guys collecting… enough to give.

So, when we fail, we don’t just sit and cry, we work out some stuff, like how to make it so next time we kick some ass and raise some cash! But first, lets take some time out…

We’re all human. Except the DUCK, which is, well a DUCK. Point is, there are mistakes, good efforts and poor results, sometimes. Sometimes it just rains and it’s not God being personal.

So we don’t get beat up; we accept everyone makes mistakes (ever got an email from a charity asking for a rag raid with a weeks notice… or cancelling it with 6 hours notice?)- even us. We accept there are gonna be bad days… and we learn and grow and move on.

So, lets go through a few things… (the numbered points match up- cool, huh!)

1. Rag-raiding needs a uni wide PR drive. College reps get disheartened trying to drag folks along to rag-raids, and then face embarrasment as folks drop out. With every flopped raid the next one gets harder. If only guys had heard about it and told all their friends in freshers’ week, if only the loudkid had gone raiding and spent term telling her friends it was ace.
2. I confess, I don’t know a lot about JDRF. And we didn’t have stickers or flyers to hand out. If I’d learned a little earlier how ace their charity was, maybe I’d a) had more guts to stick it out, and b) had more to tell the strangers in the street. DUCK exists to raise awareness as well as money for charities- guys flyering about the charity at the same time as rag-raiders maybe?
3. As well as clear t-shirts (check) - clear, labelled buckets (no-check!). The buckets we had were bad. Small, teensy label, with the initials on it. But if you go to their website, they have a (stock) photo of a beautiful girlie and some test-tubes at the top. The girl works. The initials don’t. Make sure rag-raiders know the charity and look happy.

   Another thing: if you busk, learn the words!

So, what ideas do we have?

• Jump in first term with a rag-raid. Make sure whilst people have the time to spare in the Autumn term they have a successful raid with an easy charity (e.g. Save the Children). Experience and word of mouth sells 400%- so make sure freshers’ have a great time that they’ll want to do again. Make it a mega-raid, make it in Manchester, or York, or residential- just make it fun, successful, big and easy, and in first term.
• See promoting raids as a uni-wide activity- not a college one. Some times the college competition ethos helps- some times it don’t!
• Get the info to the raiders- double plus: as well as giving raiders something intelligent to say when asked, keeps them motivated and excited- even when the rugby is on.
• Try and raise awareness on the street- stickers with websites on, pictures depicting the charity (JDRF = what?! ; blonde girl+test-tube = cash), flyer.

I designed this poster (at least in concept) over Christmas. I unfortunately lost it in my computer, and didn’t find it until after the event… I’m listing it here out of prosperity, but it was never actually used.

This wee site has grown a lot and has been re-arranged a lot recently. Lots of new pages…

A lapse time of posting reflects immense stressy DUCK time.

The last week saw:

• One college president being forcibly introduced to 60 litres of custard in a bath tub.
• One college president’s phone being forcibly introduced to the afterlife
• Several hundred people ordering a DUCK hit squad to put a plate full of shaving foam into several hundred other peoples’ faces
• Lots of Harribo
• A chocolate fountain
• Yellow tablecloths and menu cards in the dining hall
• People wearing togas as the outside temperature fell to -4 degrees.
• Industrialised insanity, in the form of Mr. and Mrs. Cuth’s
• A fiercely competed election for next year’s DUCK manager
• One party on a boat, cancelle
• One Stars in their Eyes competition
• A broken toe nail

And now, thankfully, it’s all over.

Quick job, no real time for anything funky.

Never agree to do something which you don’t want to do, or don’t have time for.

Especially if it’s making an online Blind Date  form.

The tricky part comes when you design on a computer that works, aiming to publish it on a system that doesn’t, and then find you’re stuck with a third, even sillier one.

All about the people.

People pay off. Working things on your own is a bum deal. It sucks. Working with welfare officers, sports and socs, vice presidents, bar committees, and your friends pays off. My advice for anyone doing charity stuff in a uni- make lots and lots and lot of friends with people who might help later- 10 minutes lugging stage blocks for a tired social sec will buy you copious help when you most need it!

Tonight was an incredibly disheartening Body-Shop party. There were no bodies. For quite a wee while some embarrassed looking ladies stood in the back of our college bar, their wares spread across the pool table, as disinterested people wandered past.

In the corner the poor wee bairn who had organised the whole thing (right down to printing half a million posters) sat and felt terrible. I leant on the bar I was working behind and watched uneaten chocolate drip endlessly through a chocolate fountain.

When I’d finished washing the fountain, re-building the dishevelled back-bar which the bar com had just ignored for half a year, and cleaning up I got sarky comments from bar staff lounging around waiting for someone else to mop the floor. The steward, eyeing it all via CCTV upstairs rang the bar.

“Will you tell Dave to stop larking about. Tell him to stand on the chair in front of the camera and get his cock out.”

Effort required before tonight: 6/10 (delegation is the way forward)

Effort required during the DUCK event: 7/10- no-one rocking up makes it easy

Effort required not to punch someone in frustration: 11.