Author: Jenna Wills

Want to get closer to your local music scene? Want to have months of activity, hours of euphoria and the experience of a lifetime?

Then Oxjam could be just what you are looking for!

Feel the buzz of organising your own music event for Oxfam and be part of the UK’s biggest festival line-up.

Sign up to be an Oxjam Music Event Organiser where you live and make your ideas a reality.

Oxjam is Oxfam’s month long music festival around the UK in October. Organised by people who know and love their local music scene, all in aid of Oxfam.

Whatever you’re into from dance to dubstep, from pop to punk, Oxjam is your chance to organise an event and help fight poverty with music.

Sound like your thing? Apply to be a Music Event Organiser today!

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/fundraise/oxjam/article.php?ref=312

Do you want to be a part of something BIG? Feel like a new challenge? Take part in Oxjam 2010 and be part of one of the biggest events of the year!!

Oxjam Regional Managers Wanted

Oxjam is a music festival made up of hundreds of events around the UK that takes place in October. organized by people who know and love their local music scene and who want to make a difference, all in aid of Oxfam.

The highlight of the festival is the 35 city-wide Oxjam Takeover events: amazing multi-venue one-ticket-gives-access-to-all events in 35 towns and cities organized by our volunteer Oxjam Regional Managers and their enthusiastic teams.

As a Regional Manager it is your job to recruit and manage a team of talented volunteers to hold a multi-venue music event in your local area as part of the Oxjam nationwide Takeover event.  It’s a great opportunity to meet new people, have a challenge and be part of the biggest charity music festival of the year!

There are ONLY 5 PLACES LEFT!! so if you have what it takes to run an amazing event and help raise loads of money and awareness get applying now!

To find out more about the role and how to apply then check out the link below.

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/fundraise/oxjam/article.php?ref=308

The deadline for the applications is Sunday 4th April 2010.

The Role runs from April 10^th to 30^th November 2010. And requires a time commitment of 10+ hours per week.

Just a quick note to let you know about some exciting volunteering opportunities!

Firstly, we’re looking for Regional Managers to organise Oxjam takeover events across the country. As a Regional Manager, you’ll be responsible for coordinating Oxjam in your area. You’ll recruit and lead a talented team to put on one of our amazing city-wide, multi-venue, one-ticket-gives-access-to-all Oxjam Takeover events in October. For more information, please see http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/fundraise/oxjam/article.php?ref=307

Secondly, we’re looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help promote our fantastic 100k walking events at the Outdoor show at the NEC on 27^th/28^th March.  It’s a fun show with loads of interesting stalls and activities, tickets are normally £13, but volunteers will have free access to the show before or after their shift. We’re also looking for volunteers to help us promote the event in Birmingham City Centre on Monday 29^th March – please e mail me at [email protected] if you are able to help out.

And finally, we’re looking for people to steward at festivals over the summer! We’re looking for people to join the 5000 strong team of Oxfam stewards, campaigners and shop volunteers at the UK’s best music festivals. You’ll see live music from the inside – helping make it all happen. In return, you’ll get hot food, warm showers and exclusive staff camping. Better still, because we’re paid for every steward we provide, you’ll be raising money to fight poverty while you’re at it! Applications open on Monday – for more info, please see http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/stewarding/faqs/index.html.

If you’ve got any questions, or would like to find out more, please feel free to give me a call on 07917 323 538.

Just to let you know that our volunteer, Elsie, is holding the first meeting of the Birmingham Fundraising Group on Monday 8th March at 6.00pm in our offices next to the Mailbox in Birmingham. She’s meeting everyone outside the Mailbox at 6.00pm, it would be great if you could come along – everyone’s welcome!

This is the first meeting of the brand new Oxfam Birmingham fundraising group – a chance for everyone to meet over a cup of tea and a biscuit and find out a little more about what it will mean to be part of a new fundraising team.

We’re looking for passionate and dedicated volunteers to get involved – your fundraising activities can be anything and everything – ranging from cake sales to gala dinners. And your role will help to deliver these – could be anything from putting up posters to speaking to the local newspaper!

Please come along to find out more about how to get involved and to talk about your ideas for our first event!

If you want more information, are unsure about how to get to the meeting or just want a chat about the new group – please give Elsie a call on 07719856494 or email [email protected].

If you can’t make it to the event, but still want to join the group – please send us a message with your contact details and we’ll ensure you can make it to our next meet-up.

I’m really excited to announce that one of our volunteers is starting up a Fundraising Group in the centre of Birmingham. Elsie Bryant, our new fundraising group leader, is looking for creative and passionate people to get involved and help organise amazing events in the area to raise money for Oxfam.

The group will meet around once a month to organise a programme of fundraising activities. These could be anything and everything – ranging from cake sales to gala dinners. And your role will help deliver these – it could be anything from putting up posters to speaking to the local newspaper! Whatever your strengths are, there will be a role to suit you.

If you want to make a difference and have a brilliant time doing it, please e mail [email protected] or join the group http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=223407084#!/group.php?gid=280203842166&ref=mf. Elsie is planning a first meeting for anyone who wants to find out more for the beginning of March – please get in touch for more details.

Just a quick note to let you know about all the exciting internship opportunities we have in Oxfam Midlands at the moment. These are great opportunities to gain lots of experience working with the Oxfam Midlands campaigns and fundraising team and to help us in our mission to overcome poverty and suffering worldwide.

We’re currently recruiting for the following positions:

Youth Engagement Campaigner  (six months commitment, two days per week)

School Engagement Campaigner (six months commitment, three days per week)

Midlands Political Campaigns Intern (three-six months, two – three days per week)

Community Organisers for the General Election (March – May inclusive, various hours, home based)

Oxjam Regional Support Executive (eight months, three – four days per week)

Regional Events Campaign Coordinator – (eight month commitment, two-three days per week)

Whether you want to use your love of music, creativity, enthusiasm or political passion to help Oxfam, we want to hear from you!

For more information, and to apply for any of these positions, please visit http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/volunteer.

A big thank you to everyone who has supported our Haiti appeal so far. Oxfam is now beginning to get aid through despite immense challenges. Our staff in Haiti are currently providing shovels and picks for local civil workers to clear rubble to search for trapped victims in the capital, but the destruction continues to severely hamper aid efforts. Our immediate priorities will be providing safe water and shelter materials for the people who have lost their homes.

A horrific picture of need, and the vast obstacles to getting aid to people in need, is emerging. While international efforts are focused on dispersing aid in the capital, the actual epicenter of the quake was in the countryside. There is no access to rural area, so no picture yet of the disaster there and scale of people’s needs.

Oxfam are planning a response costing several million pounds, and I’d like to ask you to do anything you can to help, and to do it as soon as you can. Could you contact your local supermarket, rail station or theatre and see if you could hold a collection there? You’ll be amazed at the generosity of others, especially while the earthquake is at the front of everyone’s minds.

One of our volunteers, Charli, spent Wednesday afternoon baking cakes. Yesterday, she went round the office block asking for donations in return for cakes – and made £137! This morning, she had just four left to sell – and from these four cakes, she made another £45 – amazing!

Our heartfelt thanks go to Charli and everyone else who is working so hard to raise money for Haiti. You can donate online at www.oxfam.org.uk. Whether you bake cakes, hold a raffle at work, shake a collecting bucket or organise a fundraising event, you can make a real difference – thank you. If you’d like any materials or advice on fundraising, please do give me a call on 07917 323 538.