Money, Meanings and Admin
Treasurer Zita distills the meaning of KEEN as well as offering an insight into her experiences.
After seeing the success of this year’s freshers fair and meeting many new faces during the taster session, it reminds me of last year when I was still a fresher.
I used to volunteer in an after school club with pupils aged from 3 to 12 which involved playing games and assisting them with their homework. So after that, I decided that I really wanted to continue my passion during my university life. I went to the freshers fair last year with a goal to look for a volunteer group that helped children.
There are many volunteer groups provided in the University and I must admit that the colourful tops that our last committee wore caught my eyes and that’s why I went to their stall. When I got closer, I saw the name ‘KEEN’ and it made me think that everyone in KEEN must be keen to be a part of it.
Then l took a closer look I saw that KEEN stood for ‘Kids Enjoy Exercise Now’, this worried me as I am not a sporty person. However listening to the experiences that last year’s committee had and seeing their enthusiasm, I decided to sign up and give it a go.
In order to volunteer, we need to have a valid DBS check. As I am an international student the administration time is longer than usual and it takes me 8 weeks to get it done.
However, I can promise you that the wait is worthwhile and don’t let that put you off. Since then, I have gone to the KEEN sessions every week and I took a step further to become a treasurer in this year’s committee.
This involved managing KEEN’s finances in coordination with our student union and grant application. I also work closely with our fundraising officer, Beth to provide more resources for the children.
It’s almost a year since I joined KEEN, if you ask me now
I could tell you that KEEN actually means
having fun with the kids!