‘Changing Lives’ is a local charity which helps to find long-term housing for homeless people, help people recovering from addiction, and particularly provide confidence building and support for women and girls in the community. Maggie McDowell is a Criminology lecturer and proud supporter of this charity, organising clothing collections, fundraisers and, her latest charitable stint, sky-diving from a terrifying 10,000 feet!
How did you become involved in the charity?
I became aware of the charity whilst researching my PhD working with homeless women and was able to meet some pretty fantastic people who go to great lengths to encourage, motivate and support the homeless to be able to live independently.
In the past you’ve done clothing collections in order to raise money for the charity…
Yes, I’ve done 3 in the last 2 years starting in December 2012 with the most recent one last Christmas. There will be a 4th collection coming up this term but first, the skydive. We also managed to raise an impressive £340 for Krispy Kreme doughnuts, money which was used to buy toiletries and Christmas gifts for the homeless. I went along with a couple of students to help serve Christmas lunch to the service users. The service was thoroughly thankful as they were really struggling to provide something extra at that time.
How were the collections received amongst the Durham students – did you get a good response?
I always receive a fantastic response from students and staff; they’re always willing to help; people give up their time, money and clothing.
What made you choose a skydive this time?
Well, I thought I’d try something different; on a personal level, it’s about facing my fear of heights, on a practical level, it’s about raising as much money as possible for a worthwhile cause. Luckily a friend of mine offered to do it with me so we will be doing a tandem jump from a height of 10,000 feet on the 7th December. It should be really good fun and any support on the day would be greatly appreciated!
Are you nervous? Yes – petrified!
How can people get involved in helping the charity? There is a gift-giving page where people can donate money – any donation is always welcome no matter how large or small. Currently we’re working towards a £1000 target. There will also be another upcoming clothing collection so people can look out for more information in their various colleges.It’s important to get the clothes collected now so that the clothes can get out for the winter just to provide something for the people on the streets
Look out in your colleges for collection points so that we can help the North East’s most vulnerable people this winter