SHAG Week & GI Jonny Night Feb 11-14th 2008
After successfully applying for a Queen’s Annual Fund grant QUB LGBT decided to run SHAG Week (Sexual health awareness and guidance) culminating in a social evening, GI Jonny night, in the Students Union. We decided to host the event on Valentine’s week, Valentines being a traditional day of love, to promote the safe sex theme and heighten the profile of the campaign.
The society ordered and handed out over 1000 condoms, 1500 sachets of lubricant, 500 femidoms, 500 pregnancy strips and 1000 safe sex leaflets in SHAG packs over the course of the week. All of our members volunteered their time to prepare each SHAG pack by hand the week before and to occupy a stall in the Student’s Union Foyer for 4 days with information from local and UK-wide organisations promoting the use of safe sex, STI testing and sexual health knowledge.
With eye catching blow up dolls and promotional T-Shirts also visible on the stall we aimed to promote a social evening to “inform and protect” in the Bunatee bar on Wednesday the 13th of February. GI Jonny night had a superhero theme with free drinks for everyone in costume and drinks promotions ran all night. We invited Queen’s Radio to DJ and RAG to raise money for the Terrance Higgins Trust (a charity which helps individuals who are HIV+) and successfully secured over £100 with a people auction and team games. We provided free contraception in the Students Union toilets for the night’s entirety.
The weeklong event provided over 1000 members of the student body with free contraception and literature, strengthened bonds and inspired Queens Radio, RAG and LGBT Societies to work together and party at a well attended, profitable night in the Student Union.
