FAN Club Profile, Harry Day, Autumn 2010
Harry Day donning spandex as Student Switch Off’s mascot, the Eco-Power Ranger!
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Name: Harry, 23.
Fresh out of uni I landed a job with P&P as an Intern. Still reeling from the end of cheap watered-down lager and all-nighters writing essays, I was at the centre one of the best student-led charities in the UK, training groups and organising massive national events.
What do you do now? I am now a Coordinator for a successful energy-saving campaign, the Student Switch Off. We have over 11,000 students in halls of residences signed up and taking action to cut energy use and carbon emissions at 33 universities all over England. The job varies massively, from analysing energy data to organising great events and even donning spandex as our mascot, the Eco-Power Ranger! This year so far we have saved a whopping 1,500 tonnes of carbon from being pumped into the atmosphere.
Why did you first get involved with People & Planet? I first got stuck into P&P when I stumbled upon a disorganised stall in a dingy Freshers’ Fair at the University of Leicester. The fact that the group was in its fledging stages and knew that it wanted to do something, but didn’t have the foggiest drew me to it – I too wanted to start campaigning on global issues.
How did you get where you are today? What advice do you have for students today? I got to where I am today because of the great skills I learnt whilst I was a one of the many volunteers for the Network. In my final year at university I was speaking and giving workshops at national events on the Go Green campaign and got great training and experience. P&P had equipped me with the skills and experience to get into the highly contended world of the NGO job market – cheers! I would definitely say to students to get involved with the invaluable volunteer positions at P&P.
Which student campaign/ movement has inspired you most? I have been really inspired by the recent online Nestle campaign where hundreds of people harnessed the power of social networking and funnelled their anger that they were buying palm oil, which was wrecking orang-utan habitat. Such a fuss was kicked up across Facebook and Twitter that Nestle had to step down. It’s great to see people power using the medium of the internet to produce such amazing results.
What does P&P mean to you? People & Planet means a massive range of different things to me, from getting really inspired at massive events with new friends in my uni group to getting skilling up as a volunteer. It also developed me as a person and also as a professional.
Give us one reason why you support P&P to engage students in campaigning. I support P&P through the FAN Club because the money goes such a long way and it’s the most fantastic way of enabling students to have a voice and to take action on global issues that they want to change.
