In her monthly column, University of Bath students' union president Alex Nicholson-Evans looks at the help given to Julian House

Happy New Year! We are in one of our exam periods with everyone's time mainly taken up by revision. However, many students have still been making time for their voluntary commitments.

Before the Christmas holiday, the Students' Union organised several community-based events, including the sleep-out. This evening is designed by Rag to raise money for Julian House and to increase awareness of the issue of homelessness among the university community. Students are sponsored by their friends and peers to "sleep out" on the university's Parade for one night. This year, the event raised more than £500 with 40 people taking part.

Another successful annual event was the Junior Gateway Christmas Party. Students from the Student Community Action Group organised the party for the children of the Junior Gateway Club, complete with games, workshops run by our societies, and Father Christmas giving each child a gift.

The Students' Union has been working with the group, which was set up for disabled and special needs children and those who have difficulty socialising outside school, for several years.

Another key Students' Union activity is running awareness campaigns. In a previous column I mentioned Personal Safety Week and since then we have run Living On A Budget Week to help students understand and work with their finances.

Our last campaign for 2008 was Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance Week. We tied it in with fundraising efforts for International World Aids Day, which included the Red Party organised by our Pharmacy Students Association. They held a successful fundraiser for the National Aids Trust with the aim of also combating the stigma associated with HIV.

Finally, as we welcome in 2009, a number of our students will be joining many of you in starting training for the Bath Half Marathon. Best of luck to you all.