News Articles
From the President
A Symbol of Hope,A Symbol of Community
Editor's note: President Alastair Summerlee welcomes comments on his column at president@uoguelph.ca.
For the past several weeks, I, like many people on campus, have been wearing several bands of red and white beads around my wrist. They're intended to help raise awareness and funds for the University's Masai Project, which aims to contribute $100,000 to the fight against AIDS in Africa.
No matter what I'm wearing on a given day, I put on these colourful accessories. I've grown accustomed to feeling them slide up and down my wrist as I write, eat, dress and shake hands.
The bracelets are both conversation starters and conversation dominators when curious people spot them peeking out from under the sleeve of my shirt or jacket. Some ask if I'm starting a new fashion trend; others just want to know if the beads symbolize something. “Yes,” is always my answer to the latter question. “They most definitely symbolize something.”
I tell them the bracelets were made by women in an African co-op and that the University is selling them to help build an AIDS clinic in Lesotho. Almost always, people want to know more. Often, I end up leaving a bracelet behind (after collecting the standard $5 donation, of course). Indeed, the beads have become a highly visible and successful way to promote the Masai Project. But to me, they have come to signify so much more.
Every time I put on my trio of bracelets or glance down at them as I go about my day, I think about the giving nature of the U of G community. These red and white beads have come to represent our staff, faculty and students.
They're symbols of the people who selflessly dedicate themselves to the many charitable initiatives on this campus. It doesn't matter if the beneficiaries are people in Guelph, people in another Canadian community or people halfway around the world. If it involves helping out, making a difference for someone somewhere, our University community is there in full force.
The Masai Project is one example. U of G employees who were inspired by Guelph doctor Anne-Marie Zajdlik's efforts to raise $1 million in Guelph for the Lesotho AIDS clinic approached my office for support. Several of my staff got involved, and soon e-mails were going back and forth from Guelph to the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Inina Craft Agency in South Africa. A staff member in our finance department convinced someone somewhere to donate the shipping costs, and the bracelets arrived. Red and white beads started adorning wrists everywhere. Someone else came up with the idea of a fundraising dinner, and soon we had African dancers agreeing to donate their time to perform at the event and Anne-Marie agreeing to speak.
It's been an impressive undertaking, but I'm pleased and proud to say that it's only one example of the tremendous effort that is poured into such initiatives on this campus. Whether it's the Masai Project or students teeter-tottering for 24 hours straight in the cold and rain for local and global charities, the enthusiasm and commitment are always there.
We recently kicked off another United Way campaign on campus and announced a fundraising goal of $370,000. Our goal increases each year, but no one ever seems daunted by the challenge. Volunteers simply come up with new and unique ways to encourage giving, and we always seem to exceed our expectations.
This month marks another annual tradition — the “Trick or Eat” campaign that sees students going door to door on Halloween to collect donations for the Guelph Food Bank. Last year, a record 800 student volunteers collected more than $52,000 worth of food in three hours. “Trick or Eat” is part of the national Meal Exchange program, in which students donate points from their meal plans to buy food for local charities. Guelph students consistently set records in Canada for the most money raised through this program.
I continually hear stories of faculty and staff who dedicate their time to numerous causes, from raising money to help fund research on cancer, heart disease and spinal cord injuries to spending summers working in orphanages and helping to bring refugees to Canada.
That's why it's so fitting that U of G will be the first Canadian university to participate in Leave for Change. This innovative program allows people to transform their holidays into short international assignments in developing countries. I look forward to hearing the stories our first U of G participants will have to tell of their experiences overseas.
I will be encouraging them to keep in touch via e-mail or through blogs — a world I've recently started venturing into myself. I started a “president's blog” this fall, partly to have another avenue through which I can spread the word about the great efforts under way on this campus. It also serves as a diary of sorts for me, a way of expressing to the community the thoughts that are running through my mind.
During the hustle and bustle of life, it's easy to forget to take note of the small details and deeds that are making a difference. My blog is one way to help me ensure that they don't go unnoticed.
I'll be making some mental notes for my blog when I attend the Masai dinner Oct. 12. It's a fundraiser for Africa, a place where both sickness and poverty are rampant, so the modest dinner menu will be mindful and respectful of that fact.
I expect to see a lot of people wearing red and white bracelets at the dinner. I will, too, of course, knowing all the while that it's really the heart of the University community I'm wearing under my sleeve.