UCL Halls of Residence social committees donate £1,023 to Royal Free Charity

In the academic year 2014-15 social committees for Ian Baker, Ramsay and Astor halls of residence merged together to represent 600 student residents.

Chaired by Dara Vakili and Charlotte Hardwick the committees organised a hugely successful ball for UCL first years in Cafe de Paris to celebrate the completion of their time as freshers.

Ticket sales were so high that the committee had £1,023 left over after hosting the event. The committee took the charitable decision to donate the surplus funds to the Inventions for Patients - a division of the Royal Free Charity. Inventions for Patients funds the creation of specialist equipment for patients whose daily activities are inhibited by their illnesses, such as an app that logs sugar levels in diabetics so meals can be managed more effectively.

The inventions are done by UCL students studying Applied Medical Sciences. This donation will allow students to build prototypes of their much needed designs. If the prototypes are successful and there is potential for an invention to be taken towards commercial production, the Royal Free Charity will further fund the invention with profits being distributed to the charity and the students.  

Dara Vakili said, "In October 2015 the Warden of Ramsay, Astor and Ian Baker House invited us back to Ramsay to talk to the new prospective social committee about what was achieved in the 2014-15 academic year. The aim was to inspire the new residents to form a social committee who would continue to carry the torch. It's nice to know we left an impression on the 2015 fresher's and that we started something that not only enhanced our experience in halls but left a long lasting memory of the people we shared it with."

Dara Vakili and Charlotte Hardwick, Chairs of the Ramsay, Astor and Ian Baker Halls Social Committee