Mid-Kent College Social Action Challenge 2025!
Mid-Kent College Social Action Challenge is your opportunity to get out into your local community to really make a change to the world around you! You will be working with a charity of your choice to proactively raise money as well as contribute directly to the cause through social action. This is the first year this will be taking place at Mid-Kent College!
Social Action Challenge will be between the 5th – 18th June.
In groups of 4-5 you have been set the challenge to raise £150 as a minimum for a chosen charity.
You will then have to create a project plan that highlights how you are going to reach your fundraising target. The project plan will outline your preparation, your execution and evaluation once you have reached the minimum target.
As you put together your project plan, don’t lose sight of the purpose behind Social Action. Take some time to get to know the charity of your choice and how your contribution will make a difference by helping the work that they do.
Watch this video to see highlights from previous years in other colleges Unloc have worked with.
Preparing for your Social Action Project
Ahead of Social Action Day itself, please complete the three tasks below so that you are as prepared as possible. By completing these tasks, you will be ready to make a big difference!
Task 1 – Understanding Social Action
Social Action is a term that has gained a great deal of traction over the last few years but what does it actually mean? It turns out that millions of us across the world take part in social action every day and don’t even know it. This is because there are various terms that are often used interchangeably and that all refer to social action.
Watch the video and think about the following:
- What does the term ‘social action’ mean?
- What are the various ways a person can participate in social action?
- Conduct some individual research to find groups or organisations who promote social action on an ongoing basis. What is the approach they take to giving back to society?
Task 2 – Charities
Identify an issue that you are passionate about. Research these charities below that work in that field that you would be interested in supporting. They can be any charity; local, national, or international. Below are links to some of the charities that are local to the college. These are just some examples, you can research any charities of your choice.
As you do your research, here are some key questions for you to consider:
- Who/what does the charity support?
- Do you have a personal connection to the charity or their cause?
- How much of an impact can you / your group have if you were to work with them?
- Will the charity help you to support them? e.g. providing branded resources
- How might you raise money and actively support the cause?
Task 3 – Amplifying the cause
A big part about your Social Action project is to work closely with your chosen charity and understand the work they do! As you start planning your team’s schedules, think about the following questions:
1. How can my team amplify the cause that the charity is working for?
2. What are some ways we can share the work that they do? Example: Wear t-shirts of the charity, put up their posters, etc.
3. How is our project plan connected to the work that they do?
Task 4 – Team Roles
During your Social Action project, you will be working in a team with some of your other classmates. Look at some of the team roles below and see which role might play to your personal strengths. Think about who you could work well with.
Social Action is a fun and safe environment for you to practise teamwork and some of these skills.
Team Roles
| Role | Useful Behaviours | Possible Tasks During The Project |
| Project Manager | Is responsible Listens to others Communicates well Is decisive | Prioritises and assigns tasks Co-ordinates and oversees sub- teams Motivates the team Review outputs of other teams eg comms, presentation, fund- raising |
| Project Planning Team | Communicates with others Works well with others Listens to others | Research Understands the project activities, resources, work streams and dependencies Communicates progress to project manager during the project |
| Comms Team | Communicates well Has good knowledge of communications platforms Has advertising skills | Communicates progress to project manager during the week Download and store project evidence Sets up, monitors fund-raising pages Creates promotion materials |
| Presenting Team | Has knowledge of writing/ presenting to different audiences Writes convincingly Has a good oral delivery | Communicates progress to project manager during the week Writes and delivers presentation Uploads presentation ahead of Friday |
| Finance Co-ordinator | Works with numbers Understands how to track figures Has knowledge of spreadsheet applications | Communicates progress to project manager during the project Keeps track of expenditure and money raised |
| Fundraising Team | Solves problems Works with other team members Is creative | Communicate progress to project manager during the project Devises fund-raising activities |
Social Action Project Planning Day 1 – Monday 2nd June – Charity Carousel
Morning
1.Team roles
In your teams you will decide who will be performing each role
2. Charity carousel and pitch plan
Your teams will speak to each charity to see who you would like to represent and why you are the best fit for that charity. You will then put a pitch together as to why your team will be the best fit for that charity to present to the charity in the afternoon.
Afternoon
Team pitches
Get ready to pitch to your chosen charity before the charities decide who they would like to represent them. Good luck teams!
Day 2 – Thursday 5th June – Project planning and amplifying the cause
All day
Project planning:
In your teams you need to plan how you are going to raise £150 for your chosen charity. Teams need to research fundraising ideas and work out what is best for their projects. Can you utilise other departments in college, do you need permissions from other people?
Amplifying the cause:
In your teams look at how you can amplify your chosen charities cause and spread the word. T-shirts/posters, how is the team project plan supporting what the charity does?
Research can be done via the internet to look at other college social action ideas and how they have spread the word.
In your teams you can then write a plan of how you will amplify the cause.
Day 3 to 7 – Monday 9th June – Friday 13th June -Fundraising
In your teams you need to finalise project plans and put your plans in to action. (The student enrichment team will be at Maidstone on Tuesday 10th, Thursday 12th and Friday 13th for cultural week)
Day 8 and 9 – Monday 16th June and Tuesday 17th June – Final fundraising efforts and preparing presentations
These are the last days for your teams final fundraising efforts (Monday 16th is Maidstone’s Fantasy fair).
You will also need to complete a presentation of your project and outcome for the presentation and celebration day on Wednesday.
Presentations can be done on power point, posters or however your team wishes to complete their presentation!
Day 10 – Wednesday 18th June – Presentation Day
Today your teams will present your completed projects to your charities followed by a prize giving ceremony. We will have some special guests in attendance.