A poor student receives £100 from a kind stranger on the train.
Many students struggle to make ends meet, with the cost of living frequently rising in some of the world’s most popular study destinations. In January, Leeds Beckett University graduate Ella Johannessen called her mum from the train, speaking about how upset and worried she was about her finances. When she woke up from a nap, she found that an anonymous fellow passenger had left £100 for her underneath a napkin. The money was a huge help to Ella, and prevented her from going over her overdraft limit.
Ella spoke of her shock and gratitude, telling the BBC: “would like to tell the person that they are a fantastic human being, and it has really lifted my spirits and massively helped me out.” She reached out to thank the anonymous donor via Facebook, with her post being shared more than 28,000 times.
University Cleaner gets a well-deserved break thanks
Ever thought to yourself that it’s been a while since you had a nice holiday? For University of Bristol cleaner Herman Gordon, it had been a decade. But thanks to the kindness of 230 of the university students, who crowdfunded to raise £1,500 in just one week, Herman and his wife Denise have been able to visit Jamaica for a well-deserved break. Herman is well known around campus for his positive energy, always smiling and fist-bumping students.
Herman broke down in tears when he found out about the trip, which came as a complete surprise, and has expressed his gratitude to the students: God bless you all. Everybody will see this and think that I’m a trillionaire.”
Uni student whose revision notes were stolen.
Anne-Marie Downes, an Oxford University student who has a learning disability, lost two year worth of lecture notes and her laptop after her bag was stolen in April“ just six weeks before her final exams. But thanks to a fellow student sharing Anne-Marie’s story on social media, dozens of students and professors at Oxford helped Anne-Marie by offering their own notes.
Anne-Marie was particularly touched by the kindness of two fellow students who helped her sort through the maze of donated notes, helping to build her confidence as exams grew near.
Tweeting to update everyone in August this year, Anne-Maries bag has unfortunately still not been recovered, although she thanked everyone for their support, and said she passed with a high 2:1“ congratulations!
Student helped by family of strangers after theft left her stranded
In another news story involving a student who was robbed but helped by the kindness of strangers, University of Sheffield student Emma Ormiston was left without her phone, passport and money after her belongings were stolen in Nicaragua on the border with Costa Rica. Whilst waiting with immigration officers, she got chatting to a woman and her family who were crossing the border. The family, who were originally from Slovakia but lived in Basingstoke in the UK, gave Emma a generous donation, which meant she was able to get back into Costa Rica, travel to the Consulate Office and contact the British Embassy.
