Thursday 13 December 2018 10:27pm
Receiving a Christmas pack from Stephen Crosland is Psychology PhD candidate Anita Azeem, with her children Adaiah and Aryeh both two years old. Photo: Sharron Bennett.
Campus Watch has delivered some Christmas cheer to students who are not going home for Christmas.
Wearing a Santa hat and tinsel, Campus Watch’s Steve Crosland delivered goodie bags containing Christmas crackers, candy and decorations, handmade cranes, soap, candles and other items to students living in UniFlats.
"I guess knowing there is always someone here in the University community thinking about them helps."One recipient was Psychology PhD candidate Anita Azeem, who will remain in Dunedin over Christmas with her two-year-old daughter and son, Adaiah and Aryeh.
Mr Crosland also gave them a children’s book he wrote - The Land of Mud.
“To be able to spread Christmas cheer and hand out gifts someone else has organised is fantastic,” Mr Crosland says. “Now I know how Santa must feel.”
He says the response to the Christmas packs is always good – usually a “surprised look followed by a warm smile”.
“I guess knowing there is always someone here in the University community thinking about them helps.”
The Christmas packs are a joint initiative between OUSA, The International Office and the Proctor’s Office who all donate money to go towards them, the Chaplaincy team who provide a flyer letting the students know about Christmas dinner at the Dunedin Town Hall and Campus Watch who help out with their delivery. The scheme began in 2013, and has grown since then.
"Please be on the lookout for potentially lonely students. We have heard of kind staff inviting students to join their families on Christmas Day, or even if you could just let them know about the Christmas Day lunch in town."
One of the organisers, International Office International Student Adviser Louisa Samson says the project is always a joint effort right from planning through to working with student volunteers who help pack them, through to the delivery stage of reaching out to the students and wishing them a Merry Christmas.
“I would particularly like to acknowledge OUSA Welfare Officer Abigail Clark and OUSA International Officer Umi Asaka who purchased the items and who wrote lovely messages in every Christmas Card (all 350 of them!) that went into the packs.
“There are also the wonderful staff from University departments who contact us and personally come and collect the packs for their students. The packs were so popular that they have all gone!”
Ms Samson adds that for students staying in Dunedin over the Christmas period, it can sometimes be a lonely time away from family and friends.
“Please be on the lookout for potentially lonely students. We have heard of kind staff inviting students to join their families on Christmas Day, or even if you could just let them know about the Christmas Day lunch in town.