Hello! Welcome to the fifth edition of

„Inspire‟.

My name is Leyanne Goding, and I am the

Features Editor of „Inspire‟ newsletter, as

well as a 2nd year student at DMU.

By now you should know all about „Inspire‟,

and how it is a newsletter run by volunteers,

aiming to keep you up to date with student-

led projects, and you should know how you

can get involved in upcoming events, or even

have a go at running your own!

After a successful volunteer week, we bring

you updates on how the different events

went, with reviews and interviews. There is a

review of the DJ49 Competition which took

place at the union, as well as an interview and

review about the One Voice Fashion Show

which was a major success! Details about upcoming events such as the

Indoor sports session are also included, so get involved and be inspired!

With funding available up to £750 from Junction49, student‟s project

ideas and dreams can be turned into a reality. And you can follow all the

projects via the newsletter or by checking out the website

www.junction49.co.uk/universities and select DMU!

So why not get involved yourself, if you have an idea for a community

project, or want to get involved by helping out or writing for the

newsletter, let one of us know! Contact details can be found inside the

newsletter.

Kind Regards

Leyanne Goding

Leyanne’s Blog

I N S I D E

T H I S

I S S U E :

One Voice

Fashion 2009

2

DJ49 Review 3

Student

Volunteering

Week

4

Red Nose

Day

5

Oxjamaganza 6

Indoor

Sports and

Social

Session

7

Interview

with

Samantha

Brown

8

I N S P I R E N E W S L E T T E R I S S U E 5

Editorial

Team

Junction49

Co-ordinator:

Glen White

Editor:

Humayra Sadiq

News Editors:

Harriet Jackson

Fatima Khonat

Feature Editors:

Leyanne Goding

Amy Seabrook

Design and

Layout Editor:

Vacant

Contributors:

Sara Dixon

Kelly

McCormack

David Murphy

Ben Scarfe

P A G E 2 One Voice Fashion Review

BY HARRIET JACKSON

Last week was

volunteering week at

DMU and on

Wednesday, our

student union was

host to an array of

„One Voice‟ events

put together by the

involve team from a

Chinese dragon to a

multi- cultural fash-

ion show.

Peter Hitchings,

involve member

said, “One Voice is

about celebrating all

the different cultures

at DMU and creating

integration between

students.

“Leicester

is a unique

icon in the

UK to be

one of the

country‟s

most di-

verse city

and thank-

fully DMU

is an exam-

ple of that, this is

exactly what we are

celebrating today.”

One event that was

a big success was the

multi- cultural

fashion show.

Students Mariana

Graca, Natasha

Chaplin and Rhydian

Jones had spent their

last few months or-

ganising and

planning the show.

Clothes were

donated from Oxfam,

Cult, New Look,

MacQueen and many

more high street

designers.

A big thank-you

went out to third year

fashion and design

students who also

lent their clothes

from their own per-

sonal designs.

Students from

DMU modelled the

clothes lending their

peers a helping hand.

Model Tatei

Montejo said, “I

thought the show

went great and it was

a lot of fun.

“Also the make-up

artists, hairdressers

and photographers

were fantastic, I felt

like I was modelling

at London Fashion

week!”

The show began

by models walking

down the catwalk in

sari‟s and

traditional, ornate

African clothing.

It then moved onto

fashion and design

student‟s clothes and

from the clapping in

the audience

everyone seemed

very impressed with

the hard work they

had put in to making

the clothes.

The second part of

the show was high-

street wear with

casual and evening

styles. The outfits

were pieced together

thoughtfully with

summer accessories

and style.

To wrap up the

show backstage

manager, Samantha

Brown said a huge

thank-you to the

organisers and the

volunteers who

made the show

happen.

Remember DMU

is all about creating

one love and one

voice…

I N S P I R E N E W S L E T T E R

“Also the make-up artists,

hairdressers and

photographers were

fantastic, I felt like I was

modelling at London

Fashion week!”

- Tatei Montejo

P A G E 3 I S S U E 5

Friday the 27th of

February was an intense

night for seven student

DJ‟s from around

Leicester for the

competition entitled DJ49.

One Leicester student and

six De Montfort students

hijacked the decks for a

night in Level One to each

play a fifteen minute set of

whatever music they

chose.

A camera was positioned

over the decks so that all

the screens in Level One

could show the magic

happening. Each DJ was

marked on the criteria of

technical ability, musical

choice, and entertainment

value by three judges who

were our very own Glen

White, Dan Tanda from

Pedestrian and the famous

DJ Angelo who ended the

competition with his very

own set and gave away

free CD‟s. So who were

the budding DJ‟s? The

first was Indy Makh who

had been DJing for about

three years. He said that

being up first made him

nervous but after a while

he got into the

mood.

Next up was Cavortex

who had been DJing on

and off for around 8 years

but only publicly for a

year. He was glad to take

part but also like most of

them quite scared. Third

was JK who had been

DJing for only 7 months

and his friend had entered

him into DJ49, he said he

felt his mixing was quite

good. Next was the only

Leicester University

student called, Jon 1st. He

said he had fun, liked the

intimate venue of Level

One and worked for

Pedestrian so was happy to

take part. Fifth was

Christos Taki who was

very excited to be judged

by DJ Angelo and had

been DJing for around 3

years. Next up was

Makoba, who said he was

confident but

apprehensive, he had been

touring since September

2007, been DJing for 16

months – since he first

started University and

hinted that a DJ society

would be good for DMU.

Finally was Nik Gohil who

was not at all nervous,

been DJing for around 2

years, happy to be

performing but had hoped

for a better turnout. As all

of the DJ‟s presented some

amazing sets, entwining so

many different music

genres it was difficult to

keep up and report them.

There was of course a

serious side to the night

and donations and entry

fee‟s which totalled £70

were all collected for

Youth Music which aims

to provide musical activi-

ties for disadvantaged

children. The results

ended up as Jon1st in first

place who won a pair of

monitoring earphones

worth £170, second was

Cavortex and third was

Makoba. Recommenda-

tions to hold the night

again should definitely be

considered!

DJ49 Review

BY KELLY MCCORMACK

P A G E 4

student

volun-

teering

sector.

Student Volunteering

Week elevates the contour

of our „nation‟s unsung

heroes‟, endorsing the

work of the growing

number of over 42,000

student volunteers along

the country who sacrifice

their time regularly to

make an outstanding

difference

in their

communi-

ties.

The

diversity

of

contribu-

tions made by student

volunteers nationally is

immense with student

volunteers helping local

charities, as well as setting

up very successful

projects and charities.

These unsung heroes of

our communities deserve

recognition for their

outstanding contributions.

Volunteering comes in

so many different forms

and packages, if you are

thinking about becoming a

volunteer; you really are

spoilt for choice! You can

volunteer for a day at a

one-off event - maybe just

to test the waters, for a

few hours a week as a

break from study, or if

those idle summer months

are too much to bear, you

can get your hands dirty

and volunteer full-time.

You can access a myriad

of opportunities through

your student volunteering

group, local agencies, or

even by approaching an

organisation you wish to

work for directly.

Most organisations

which involve volunteers

offer training, so you don't

have to have any skills to

become a volunteer - just

loads of enthusiasm! For

more information on vol-

unteering opportunities

contact the DMU

INVOLVE team (0116

2576304 volun-

teer@dmu.ac.uk) or

JUNCTION49

(junction49@dmu.ac.uk).

National Student

Volunteering Week just

whizzed past the United

Kingdom between the

23rd of February to the 1st

of March 2009.

The week provided a

dismissible opportunity to

hoist the national profile

of student volunteers by

promoting and celebrating

local student groups. It

not only raised the

national profile of Further

and Higher

Education

student

volunteer-

ing, but

highlighted

student

volunteer-

ing achievements, whilst

attempting to address

current funding

challenges. Across the

country universities and

colleges put on special

events and volunteering

projects to reward current

volunteers and recruit

new ones!

Student Volunteering

Week was established in

2001 and is now an

annual fixture in the

Celebrating Achievements and Conquering Challenges

BY FATIMA KHONAT

I N S P I R E N E W S L E T T E R

P A G E 5 I S S U E 5

Red Nose Day returns this

Friday the 13th March... it‟s

time to Do Something

Funny for Money!

For the 24th year, the fun

way of fundraising is

returning and needs the

support from everyone,

even us students!

The charity, which beat its

current record last year by

raising over £20 million, is

hoping to beat this record

once again, and to do so is

encouraging everyone to do

something funny for money,

which is this year‟s theme.

Since 1985, Comic Relief

has inspired our nation to

have a laugh while raising

much-needed funds to help

change lives forever. Red

Nose Day is a UK-wide

fundraising event organised

by Comic Relief every two

years. On Red Nose Day

everyone is encouraged to

cast inhibitions aside, put on

a Red Nose and do some-

thing a little bit silly to raise

money - celebrities included!

It‟s an event that unites the

entire nation in trying to

make a difference to the lives

of thousands of people, both

across Africa and in the UK,

who face terrible injustice or

who live in abject poverty.

Comic relief has become

famous for its work in

Africa helping people

affected by AIDS and HIV,

as well as those dealing with

conflict, trade, urban slums

and working children.

Throughout the UK they

help community pro-

grammes, young people and

carers, and those affected by

domestic violence,

mental health, and

thousands of old people,

refugees and asylum seekers

and much more.

Every penny donated, and

every fundraising idea can

help, so come on DMU,

let‟s Do Something Funny

for Money!

Red Nose Day

BY AMY SEABROOK

Committee Members

J49 Volunteer Support Officer, Glen White: gwhite@dmu.ac.uk

Chair, Humayra Sadiq: humz786@hotmail.co.uk

Secretary, Sara Dixon: saralababy@gmail.com

General Member, Leyanne Goding: leyanne.goding@email.dmu.ac.uk

General Member, Harriet Jackson: harrietjackson401@hotmail.com

General Member, Fatima Khonat: fatima_n_m_k@hotmail.com

General Member, Kelly McCormack: kelly.mccormack@email.dmu.ac.uk

General Member, David Murphy: gizmondo80@yahoo.co.uk

General Member, Ben Scarfe: benscarfe@hotmail.co.uk

General Member, Amy Seabrook: amy.seabrook@email.dmu.ac.uk

C O N T A C T U S:

P A G E 6

I N S P I R E N E W S L E T T E R I N S P I R E N E W S L E T T E R

staged their Oxjam event

outside the UK, with the

kids and young people at

Bitone Children‟s home in

Uganda in February. They

have several celebrity

supporters for the cause,

including Jarvis Cocker,

BBC Radio DJs Nihal and

Bobby Friction and Norman

Cook, also known as the

legendry Fat Boy Slim!

Oxjam at DSU is set to be

another blast on the road to

end poverty, with music

and dance acts performing

into the late hours of the

night. Acts cover nearly

every corner of the music

spectrum, with indie

rockers The Wasted

Wagon, Xenon Balloon and

The Crebers just some of

the variety on offer.

After their success at One

Voice in February, El

Mahico will return to the

DSU to join the cause,

while student performers

will perform a range of

their own talents. A raffle

will also take place. The

event begins at 6pm.

As an extra incentive to

join in with the

money-making music,

attendees will be able to

vote for their favourite acts

of the night on the Oxjam

website through Oxfam. It‟s

scheduled to be a

rip-roaring night of sounds,

for a very worthwhile

cause!

For more information, or

to buy tickets, go to

www.demontfortstudents.c

om or call 07846110434.

Alternatively you can

contact the organisers

Lauren Bland, Ioana Barbu

or Brion Oryem by joining

the Oxjamaganza Facebook

group or emailing them on

dmuextrava-

ganza@gmail.com. Let‟s

get jammin!

The ultimate in mixed

music and entertainment

festivals hits De Montfort

Students‟ Union on Friday

20th March. The Oxjam

festival, in support of the

Oxfam charity, will bring a

night of Oxjamaganza to

students in Leicester.

Oxjam festivals have

been taking place in varied

venues across the UK since

October. Whether a pub,

club or a living quarters,

as long as there is music to

be played and money to be

raised Oxjam will go there!

The purpose of the

Oxjam festivals are to help

fight poverty through the

force of music, and these

events are set up by the

applicants themselves, so

plenty of students are

lining up to grab their turn

and do their bit for Oxfam,

all whilst having fun.

Oxfam provides the

resources and advice to

help volunteers as they

organise their own events.

Whether it is little or large,

or whatever audience it is

aimed at, all contributions

and parties are greatly ac-

cepted!

To prove this, Oxfam

have even successfully

Let the Oxjamaganza Begin!

BY DAVID MURPHY

I N S P I R E N E W S L E T T E R

P A G E 7 I S S U E 5

and social session

will give me and

others the chance

to tackle the

misconceptions

we face between

one another, for

example, we

sometimes

unintentionally

judge one another

because of our

different cultural

or religious

backgrounds,

without actually

knowing the

person.

“I also felt that

there are certain people

who don‟t want to

socialise in pubs and

nightclubs

because they

may feel out

of place or

uncomfort-

able.

“I therefore

felt this

project would

be the perfect

chance for people to

remove some of the

misconceptions and tackle

the possible problems we

face today.

“I feel this project is

giving us the opportunity

to socialise and play

sports with one another in

a fun and relaxed environ-

ment.”

Everyone is welcome so

if you‟d like the

opportunity to socialise

and meet new people

whilst getting fit, go along

to one of the sessions!

All sessions are free and

all equipment will be pro-

vided.

The Indoor Sports and

Social Session project

have organised a day of

fun events for De

Montfort students this

week.

On Wednesday March

11 a sports session will be

held in the John Stanford

Gym between 3pm- 5pm

and everyone is welcome!

The sessions are aimed

at students who want to

live more active, healthier

lifestyles. Session A

between 3-4pm is „Keep

Fit Kickboxing‟, a low

intensity work rate, no

contact session for those

who are new to exercise

and have never done any

kind of kickboxing or

martial art

before.

Session B

will be

badminton

or basket-

ball be-

tween 4-

5pm.

Muham-

mad Muhsin, who has

organised the events, said:

“I came up with this idea

because I felt the sports

Indoor Sports and Social Session

BY AMY SEABROOK

“I feel this project is giving

us the opportunity to

socialise and play sports

with one another in a fun

and relaxed environment.”

P A G E 8

S: I get a buzz when I see my

fashion shows come to life.

The networking is great too.

H: Are you a member of the

involve volunteering society

at DMU?

S: Not officially but I will

always help out if Glen needs

me too.

H: What events have you

put/assisted on to raise

money for charities?

S: Oh gosh so many, so I‟ll

just tell you about this year. I

put on a fashion show for

Breast Cancer care and I

helped with the „One Voice‟

fashion show in volunteering

week.

H: Why did you choose

those charities?

S: Breast Cancer Care was

for my friend‟s mum and

my mum‟s friend, who have

been affected by breast

cancer.

H: Are you putting on any

future events?

S: Yes, some big shows

coming up, one will be with

Cookie West of Leicester at

L.C.F.C and then my big

show at the Athena in

Leicester for sickle-cell

disease we hope to cater for

1500 guests. I can‟t tell you

about the third one yet...but I

will let you know soon

enough.

Sounds intriguing! Thank

you Sam.

Sam (right) & Laura Coleman

(Miss England) at Fashion Show

2009.

If you have run your own

volunteer or community pro-

ject or have been involved in

a community project and

would like to be interviewed

by a member of the Inspire

team please get in touch

(contact details on page 5.)

Samantha Brown, who likes

to be called Sam, is a DMU

student studying creative

writing and journalism. She

is a huge fan of Japan,

fashion, writing and

volunteering. Today, I am

interviewing her to find out

more about why she gets a

kick out of volunteering…

Harriet: Hi Sam, you do a

lot of volunteer work in your

spare time, who do you

volunteer for?

Sam: I do a lot of work in

the community and a lot of

volunteer work too. I work

for lots of different Charity's

and companies including

Carl Gunns Boxing Gym in

Leicester, we run events for

Young Children and help to

keep them off the street by

getting involved with

boxing. I also work a lot off

my own back for Charity's of

my choice.

H: So… what made you

want to become a volunteer?

S: When I left school I was a

volunteer for 2years this was

to help me find out what I

wanted to do in life.

H: What do you get out of

it?

Interview with Samantha Brown

BY HARRIET JACKSON

I N S P I R E N E W S L E T T E R