As we reached the tail-end of Mental Health Awareness Week (pun very much intended), the jam-packed schedule of events hit its peak on Thursday with our sold-out Puppy Room event!

Your generous donations are still being counted, but altogether we raised over £300 for local charity Guide Dogs for the Blind and generated a huge buzz on social media. The best bit is - it was your idea!

Mental Health Awareness is one of the most important issues facing students today; this week is all about helping to reduce the unnecessary stigma surrounding mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and stress so that people feel confident enough to ask for help if they need it.

What better way to tackle these issues than by bringing in a load of furry friends to help you cuddle your troubles away in a calming, stress-free environment?

There are loads of highly scientific studies (trust us) that show the benefits of being around animals on overall mental wellbeing.

One such study states; “research has shown transient reductions in the heart rate and/or blood pressure of participants exposed to a wide variety of stressors while in the presence of an animal”, which is a fancy way of saying that even just being with an animal helps you chill out.

This genius idea was put forward as part of our Big Ideas initiative. Alex Moldovan submitted the idea through our website last year, stating;

“Now we've all had that mini meltdown in the library when you feel like everything is just too much, you feel all stressed and fed up. Wouldn't it be amazing if you could just go to a room where it was filled with puppies and just spend about 20 minutes petting them?

There have been studies done recently (don't ask me for a reference!) that show spending time with an animal is meant to reduce the amount of stress and increase the level of dopamine. So can we not get the Uni to donate money to the RSPCA or any other animal charity and in return they can come over and bring a few dogs? Of course the same can be done with cats too...”

If you missed your opportunity (or just didn’t get your fill of puppies yet) we have good news for you – Puppy Room 2 is coming on Thursday 12th November! What’s more is that, if we manage to match our total from Thursday, we get to name a puppy who will grow up to be a guide dog and help someone in need one day. What more motivation could you want?

Huge thanks to the Advice Centre, Guide Dogs For The Blind, and to everyone else for making yesterday such a success for everyone involved. We can’t wait to do another one, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled for tickets to our second Puppy Room – coming soon!