Friday 01-09-2017 - 09:58

The renowned Durham University Charity Fashion Show which raised £75,000 for International Rescue Committee in February 2017 has been awarded the prestigious ‘Event of the Year’ award at the National Student Fundraising Awards. The winner was announced at the National Student Fundraising Awards as part of RAG Conference on Thursday 31 August at Southampton Football Club. They faced competition from a fireworks night from University of West of England SU and RAG Week from Warwick SU.

Until this year, the charity fashion show has not existed within a college or as a central part of the University but recently they’ve become a part of DUCK. Working closely with Durham SU and in return making the most of the support available to them made running the event much smoother. Using the University name gave weight to what the event, and helped them make it clear to their sponsors that Durham University Charity Fashion Show wasn’t going to cut corners with their event. 

Going into the planning the organisers knew they wanted to support a charity working with refugees, and the International Rescue Committee stood out because of their work around sustainability and rebuilding the communities that have been affected by the refugee crisis, to create lasting improvements for refugees. The Charity Fashion Show worked hard to make sure that the cause and the charity were at the heart of the event, and ran through all of the marketing of the event. 

Opportunities Officer Charlie Walker said “everyone at the Students’ Union is delighted to see this wonderful event recognised nationally. The organisers worked tirelessly to ensure that the event was well planned and executed perfectly. This is a shining example of Durham students coming together to create a positive impact nationally while being a notable event on the university calendar. In recent years, the fashion show has become more focussed on the impact and profits for the charity which has seen a huge surge in the fundraising total. We look forward to working with the organisers of the next fashion show to make it an equally enjoyable event for Durham students.”