From 17 February to 29 March, Bristol’s team of 65 student callers will be contacting alumni as part of our Spring Telephone Campaign. We hope you’ll enjoy speaking with them if they get in touch!
The University has run telephone campaigns since 1994, providing a flexible and enjoyable part-time job for students that connects them with alumni and helps to build valuable communication skills.
The students hope to tell you about University news, what it’s like to study at Bristol today, and ways you can get involved – whether that’s making a donation or taking up one of the many alumni volunteering opportunities. Our callers range from first year undergraduates to PhD students, and between them they’re studying more than 30 different courses and have a diverse range of experiences that we hope you’ll be interested in hearing about.
Back in autumn 2019, the team spoke to over 3,000 alumni by telephone who generously gave more than £40,000 to life-changing causes at the University – from supporting refugee and asylum-seeking students with Sanctuary Scholarships, to improving mental health and well-being through our innovative Healthy Minds programme. Many thanks to everyone who made a gift or took the time to talk to one of our callers.
Picking up the phone to alumni is equally beneficial to the calling team – your insight and advice leaves them with inspiration about everything from careers to travel, to the city of Bristol itself. Many of our callers are in their final year of study and find these conversations hugely helpful and encouraging as they prepare for graduation and the world of work.
Three of our previous student callers – who all spent more than two years on the team – were eager to share their experiences:
“I have loved being a part of the telephone fundraising team during my time at Bristol! It is so inspiring to hear about the exciting careers our alumni have had since graduating from Bristol and heart-warming to know that they are as passionate about the wonderful causes we raise money for as we are. Being part of the team has been a fantastic experience and I feel that it has helped me grow in confidence.”
“My favourite thing about being on Bristol’s telephone fundraising team is the sense of team spirit and the positive atmosphere of each shift. We all feel that the areas we fundraise for are really important, and as a result everyone conveys their passion in their calls, which leads to more donations! The whole team are so friendly and each shift is both rewarding and fun.”
“I loved having a job which allowed me to speak to people from all walks of life but who shared one really transformative experience. Exchanging stories with alumni and hearing about people’s career journeys was a really humbling experience and one I’ll always be grateful for. Something I was constantly told by alumni was to not worry too much about the future – to try different things and know that I have my whole adult life to figure out what it is I want to do. It made me feel so much less anxious about the graduate world!”
Find out more
For more information about telephone fundraising at Bristol and the areas supported by gifts from alumni, please visit our main website.
Th Spring Telephone Campaign will be taking place from 17 February to 29 March, on Mondays to Thursdays and weekends. Calls will come from a Bristol 0117 number, from callers who can prove that they are current students, and you will never be contacted earlier than 11 am or later than 9 pm. Information on how we use your data can be found in our privacy policy. If you have any questions, please get in touch with the Development and Alumni Relations Office at campaign-enquiries@bristol.ac.uk or +44(0) 117 394 1302.
Regrettably, owing to domestic reasons I would prefer not to be contacted at this time, but would be happy to make a small donation in future.