Events & Hospitality Students Raise Over £15,000 for Charity

City of Glasgow College is celebrating an outstanding achievement by its Events Management and Hospitality students, who have raised more than £15,200 for charities during the 2024/25 academic year.

As part of a major real-world learning project, students from HND Year 1 and Year 2 Events Management, along with BA International Hospitality, Tourism and Events Management students, worked in groups to design, plan, promote, deliver, and evaluate their own live events. The brief was clear, these events had to be commercially viable, professionally delivered, and aimed at making a social impact.

Before any ideas were approved, each team pitched to a panel of industry professionals and lecturers in a ‘Dragons’ Den’-style session, facing detailed questions on operations, marketing, and budgeting. Only the strongest and most well-planned concepts made it to the delivery stage.

The result was a diverse and lively programme across some of Glasgow’s most iconic venues, including Oran Mor, Drygate Brewery, Sloans, Committee Room No. 9, Boteco do Brasil, and Whitevale Bowling Club. Highlights included a glamorous ‘Paint & Sip’ night, themed quizzes, karaoke parties, salsa and cocktail evenings, murder mystery nights, drag bingo, and a comedy hypnotist show.

Standout successes included “Games Night” at the Corset Club, run by the team Fayre Game, which raised £1,301.51 for Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, and the “Comedy Hypnotist Night” hosted by Hypno Hustlers, which brought in £2,259.90 in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust and the Schiehallion Ward.

Other events raised funds for SAMH, Alzheimer Scotland, Macmillan Cancer Support, Lymphoma Action, St. Andrew’s Hospice, Women’s Aid, Epilepsy Action, The Beatson, and more. Every penny of profit, after expenses, was donated—backed by formal profit and loss statements prepared by the students themselves.

In total, these student-led events raised £15,203.98, with over £8,300 contributed by the HND Year 2 cohort alone.

Curriculum Head Donna McGroarty praised their achievement:

“Our students have shown incredible creativity, professionalism, and community spirit. They’ve raised an amazing sum for good causes while developing the skills and confidence to thrive in their future careers.”

The College extends its thanks to venue partners, guest panellists, industry supporters, and the hundreds of attendees who helped make this year’s fundraising such a success.