News
Pimp My Barrow 2012
It's back! It's time to dust off those Wheelbarrows, Pimp them up and race your way around the city!
Pimp My Barrow was a concept devised by two former UEA students Paul Wheeler and Tom Tapper to raise money for charity, raise the student profile in the City and have some fun. Previously the event was organised by them on a voluntary basis, but as the event has grown over the years it has become increasingly difficult to manage culminating in an event last year that drew a record number of complaints.
Last year, there were issues regarding security and stewarding which resulted in complaints from local residents; the complaints related to noise, litter and public drunkenness. For the event to be able to continue in the future, Paul and Tom felt that a greater level of organisation and security was required. They approached the Union and RAG (Raise and Give Society) to organise and manage the event.
The Union is assisting RAG this year to help with the organisation and management as this is the first year RAG will be running the event. The Union as a charity is not allowed by law to give money or services free to another charity, the union will have to charge RAG for the management of the event but this will be at cost price. The Union will not be making any money from managing the event.
The increase in the ticket price is so that RAG can insure they will be able to cover all costs in case of any unexpected price rises, for example the increased cost if we have to pay for police presence, litter clearing and barrow disposal. However, it is hoped that after costs the increase in ticket prices will result in a far larger sum of money going to charity.
We are currently in negotiations with the police about how they wish us to proceed with the stewarding of the event and their involvement. The result of all this is that we hope this year’s Pimp by Barrow will be fun, safe, raise a lot of money for Charity and be complaint free.
RAG will release a full breakdown of costs and the donation made to charity after the event. RAG will distribute the profits, with the majority of the money going to the BIG C as in previous years.
The club night after in the LCR has always had an entrance fee on the night of Pimp My Barrow. As the Student Union is a charity itself, the union cannot divert money it would ordinarily make to another charity, as this would be breaking charity law. The LCR has always and will continue to welcome participants in Pimp My Barrow but the two events have and will always be separate.
Tickets for the event are available through ueaticketbookkings.co.uk or from the Union Box Office.
For more information please contact Matthew Myles, Communications Officer, 01603 592504, union.communications@uea.ac.uk
