Bristol student receives PM’s Points of Light award for launching charity scheme

By Filiz Emily Gurer, News Editor

A University of Bristol student, Jack Elliott, has been awarded the Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s daily Points of Light award, on 7 October 2020, for his charitable work during the pandemic.

The student volunteer launched the ‘Covid-19 Student Response Network’ (CSRN) alongside fellow University of Bristol students Ameya Vikram, Lee D'arcy, Immy Ireland, Jake Ireland and Tom Steggall.

The aim of the network was to enable students from UK universities to collaborate with charities in need of support due to the pressures of the pandemic, allowing students to build their skills and experience whilst helping to create social impact.

To date, over 500 students have provided support to more than 85 different charitable projects, through developing management strategies, service design, data analytics, and other consultancy services.

In addition to their COVID-19 response, the network has also supported charities in Lebanon by responding to the Beirut explosion which took place in August 2020.

The Prime Minister’s UK daily Points of Light award was first launched in April 2014 to recognise outstanding individuals making a difference where they live.

Jack is the 1494th person to be recognised by the award.

Congratulating Jack in a personal letter, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ‘I was inspired to hear of your fantastic ‘Covid-19 Student Response Network’ through which you have harnessed the intellectual might of Britain’s brightest young minds to support charities across our United Kingdom.

‘Your army of volunteers are turning their talents from analysing data to management strategies and showcasing a spirit of collaboration and ingenuity which embodies the very best of Britain.’

Reacting to the Prime Minister’s announcement, Jack said: ‘It is an incredible honour to receive the Points of Light award, it means so much to all of us at CSRN to see the incredible work of our network recognised at such a level within the UK Government.

‘None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for my incredible team of co-founders, the quality of student talent within the UK as well as the support we received from multiple corporates and passionate individuals.

‘It’s been incredible to see what students are capable of doing when they put their mind to it and CSRN has truly demonstrated the scale of the value that student volunteers are capable of adding to incredibly complex and impactful charitable organisations and communities.

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‘We hope that our success inspires talented and driven students from all over the UK to engage in third sector consulting during their studies.

‘We launched CSRN at a time when the third sector needed it most and it is difficult to put into words just how proud we all are of what we’ve managed to achieve in the last four months.’

Since the pandemic began, the award has been focusing exclusively on people serving their community through the pandemic.

Covid-19 Student Response Network

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