211075 Downing Record 07 - Downing College - University of ...

Association NewsFor many years we offered small grants to undergraduates for the purchase of booksand other academic media. More recently we have offered such assistance to bothundergraduates and postgraduates and extended it to cover travel for conferencesand other academic work related functions as well as accommodation in a vacationwhere this has been required. This year’s President, Julian Childs, has driven theAssociation’s ambition to develop further the opportunity for extending the role ofthe Association in assisting current students who have difficulty in paying forspecific items or activities in pursuit of their course of study. This function hasreceived the support of members through the AGM. The article by Ben Davis in thisissue of the Newsletter describes his visit to hospitals in India for which he receivedassistance from our fund. To acquire the increased funds necessary for this functionwe have enhanced the range of our merchandise. The purchasing, shipping, storing,selling and record keeping has been down to the enthusiasm of members of theExecutive Committee and Frank Weiss (1950) who volunteered to undertake thistask which, despite demands of family matters, he has done with enormous energy.Our President himself has contributed directly to the fund by commissioningsolid silver cufflinks and pendants to a value of some £2000 which we are alreadyselling. To cap all this achievement we have received encouragement in the formof a most generous donation of £10,000 to our Student Support Fund by ourPresident-elect Quentin Blake. This is in addition to his giving us his consent toreproduce, without fee, his illustration which formed the cover of last year’sNewsletter and College Record as a limited print run, each signed by himself.As well as the Student Support Fund the 2006 AGM concerned itself with the lifesubscription which would be set for the next two years at £3–50 per term for nineterms and pro-rata for shorter periods of residence. It was made clear that thesubscriptions pay for the running costs of the Association and do not go into theStudent Support Fund. The Annual Dinner following was attended by some 150members including a number of recent graduates. Members had also been able totake part in the events arranged by the College as an Alumni Day on Saturday 23rdSeptember. The Chapel service in the afternoon included remembrance for our latePresident and Master Stephen Fleet who sadly had died earlier in the year. The weekendclosed with Holy Communion in Chapel and then the usual grand College breakfast.May we remind members that the Association web pages are carried on theCollege website at www.dow.cam.ac.uk through “information for – alumni”. Onthis will be found a brochure and order form for Association merchandise. Thereare also some new items comprising silver cufflinks and a silver pendant as well asframed and a signed limited edition print of Quentin Blake’s cover illustration forthe 2006 Newsletter.9