Bummit, the university’s hitchhiking society, is celebrating its 20th year of expeditions around the UK and to lands further afield, all in the name of fundraising for Sheffield and South Yorkshire-based charities.
The self-proclaimed ‘‘most exciting society’’ in the University began when a small group of adventurous students were looking for a new way to raise money for Sheffield RAG. Twenty years on, Sheffield Bummit has become the world’s largest student hitchhiking group, with hundreds of students keen to participate in each event.
Members of the committee have a plethora of stories from their experiences during either baby Bummit or big Bummit, which will surely stick with them for years to come. Many participants from last year are still in touch with those they met while hitchhiking – so you never know who you might meet along the way.
Emily Smaling, PPE student on the Bummit committee, told us her story.
“We went to Ljubljana last April, we got the ferry from Newcastle into Amsterdam, we drove through the Netherlands into Germany, we stayed in Dusseldorf for a night, then we went to the Czech Republic and stayed in Prague for a night, and then we drove through Austria and arrived in Ljubljana.’’
‘‘My worst moment of the trip was at a service station in Czech Republic when a woman started shouting at me but I didn’t understand what she was saying, and that’s when I was almost ready to give up.’’
Apart from the inherently positive impact of Bummit because of its charitable nature, students who participate tend to all have a mutual feeling of what has been described as ‘‘restoration of faith in people’’.
Emily said: ‘‘We were standing on the side of the road, holding up a sign saying Vienna, please help us, and some guy offered to take us all the way to Ljubljana so we got a 6 hour lift and arrived two days earlier than we were meant to.’’
Each year, two types of “bummit” take place: a “baby Bummit”, to a UK city; and a “big Bummit”, to a location across Europe.
While baby Bummit takes place in just one day, big Bummit stretches across a number of days, with a surprise mid-way checkpoint announced at the start of the trip.
Before the hitchhike, participating teams must reach their targeted fundraising goal. Bummiters have been known to employ a variety of creative fundraising methods, from hosting jumble sales to selling toast in Roar.
Liam Booth, Business Management student on the Bummit committee, also hitchhiked to Ljubljana last April: ‘‘It started off rough and patchy but then got really good. You meet so many like-minded people and everyone who did it last year are all friends.’’
“I stayed in a mansion which was pretty cool, and then stayed in a huge AirBnb place for £13 because someone I met texted me and said come along.
“The people that hosted us in their mansion drank with us, let us drink £1000 wine till 3am, and also invited us to their daughter’s wedding.’’
Since Bummit began in 2003, these fundraising efforts have raised over £1.1million in aid of charities like Molly’s fund, a charity that funds Sheffield-based community groups supporting mental health. Other benefiting charities over the years include The Broomhall Homework Club, Assist Sheffield, S6 foodbank and Sheffield Young Carers.
Joe Gilbert, Ex-Chair of Bummit and MA Journalism student, shared his experience: ‘‘The first time I did Bummit was in 2019 and we went to Transylvania in Romania. We went through the Netherlands, down to Germany, then to Austria, Hungary and then into Romania.’’
“Next time I did it was in Barcelona. We made loads of friends and because I ended up enjoying it so much I went on the committee.
“I think the coolest thing was when we actually got stuck at the border in Dover, and the guy who eventually picked us up-we were there for hours and had started to lose hope, he didn’t speak any English and he couldn’t get on the ferry himself because he didn’t have a Covid test.
“So we had to take him to have a Covid test at the pharmacy, and I think we helped him out as much as he helped us.’’
To find out more about Bummit find follow them at @bummit_hitch_hike
Image credits- Joseph Gilbert