Our Community is a local publication that reports on recent charity or volunteering events. Below are some articles from our first printing. Just click on the title and you will be taken to the article.

If you would like to contribute to the next issue of Our Community just fill out the form located on our CONTACT page. Our Community - the First Issue

     New initiatives are always refreshing, but this one seems even more exciting than usual. The students of the University of Guelph have had such a positive impact on the community that the Citizenship Working Group (see article in this issue) thought it would be fitting to collect some of these stories and put them in print. This is the result.
     The name "Our Community" was selected to reflect the fact that the City of Guelph is everyone's community. Sometimes, I think we forget that. Sometimes, we like to think of borders of the University as being less porous than they actually are. And I say we meaning everyone - 'city' and university-folk alike. It's important to remember, though, that there are plenty of individuals and programs that aim to break down that barrier. This newspaper aims to highlight those that are university-based, but we also recognize that there are many more wonderful people who fall outside this narrow scope.
     This is a first issue, and hopefully there are many more to come. The aim of the Citizenship Working Group is for it to become an annual or semi-annual endeavour. It's hoped that future issues will focus in on more great programs and individuals doing great things. It's also hoped that we can recognize outstanding individuals from the 'city' side of things who are contributing to breaking down that barrier.
     So what do you think? Feel free to pass along comments and critiques to us. While some of the team that put this together are now enjoying their last few days in Guelph, others will be returning next year and in future years. Send us an e-mail at crose@uoguelph.ca or give us a call at 824-4120 x4362. We'd love to hear from everyone in our community.

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Celebrating the Agricultural Community

     College Royal™, a festival of the agricultural heritage of the University of Guelph, has been a tradition in March for 78 years. Led by a committee of more than 80 student volunteers, a wide variety of University clubs and groups present innovative and interactive displays to contribute to the family fun. This student-organized annual event attracts more than 25,000 people of all ages, including families, tourists and prospective students.
     College Royal is one of the most supported and celebrated events at the University. Students and community come together to experience a fun and interactive week-end on campus. What's the secret of its popularity? Scott Knox, president of the 2002 College Royal, explains, "It's an exciting way for the students to give back to the community and demonstrate their non-academic skills." Volunteers and community members alike also enjoy the chance to partake in the community atmosphere.
     Dozens of events and activities take place at the University of Guelph during the open house weekend. Clubs, colleges and groups of all sorts competed for prestige and bragging rights through creating displays and exhibits. Groups were judged on the effort, uniqueness and enthusiasm of the participants. Top prize in the display competition went to the Environmental Science Club, which treated spectators to environmentally-friendly alternatives to everyday objects. The Plant Biology Club won best exhibit, as they provided an interactive and child friendly exhibit about plants.
     Another feature of College Royal is its popular activities. Some of the old favourites include livestock shows, cat and dog shows, square dancing, and the "New-Old MacDonald's Farm". Visitors were also able to glimpse into the University of Guelph's future in a new feature - Robotcon 2002. In this event, children were able to build robots with parts provided by engineering students and have their creations compete against each other. Visitors were also able to take part in the Junior Farmers' exciting tour of the history of Guelph in the Bull Ring. Other activities included contests, interactive multi-media displays, lectures by guest speakers and professors, and even a chemistry "magic" show.
     College Royal was, once again, a great success. Plans are already being laid for a bigger and better event next year! For more information check the College RoyalTM web site at www.collegeroyal.uoguelph.ca.

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Citizenship Working Group

     Citizenship can be loosely defined as taking an active role in the community. It can be demonstrated in a variety of different ways - from voting in elections to volunteering to taking an active interest in community issues. Students have traditionally found it difficult to become involved in the community, because Guelph is only home for 8 months of the year and 4 years of their lives.
     Made up of student and staff representatives, the Citizenship Working Group has had it as their mandate to facilitate involvement in the community. They have had a busy year. Supporting other initiatives through advertising, advice and staffing has been an important role. Programs like the one-off volunteering of "Making Waves" and the deeper community service of Project Serve Canadian have benefited from this support. The Working Group has also helped to mobilize students to take part in voting during the general elections period.
     CWG has also had success with event-planning. January was declared "Citizenship Awareness Month", and the University was treated with several formal and informal events that encouraged community participation. Keith Drinkwater, a local entrepreneur, spoke to an audience about his experiences as a volunteer coordinator in New York City after the September disasters. The university was treated to several information booths around community involvement, volunteer opportunities and elections. Rex Murphy, a noted broadcaster and political commentator, was also invited in to speak on his views of citizenship within the Canadian context. It was a very successful month.
     The Citizenship Working Group intends to be active for many more years. Anyone is welcome to join; feel free to contact Cheryl at crose@uoguelph.ca or 824-4120 x4362 for more information.

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The Community BBQ

     Every July, Branion Plaza plays host to one of the biggest social gatherings of the year - the Community BBQ. For 28 years, students, faculty, staff, and community members gather together to enjoy good food, good music and great friends.
     July 12th, 2001, was a bright and sunny day, a fitting atmosphere for the 28th Annual BBQ. Over 1000 people showed up for the afternoon and evening, and were entertained by performers Shannon Lyon, Jenny Whiteley and Nine Mile. A bustling kids' area saw painting and crafts of all sorts, while the licensed Bullring patio featured an intense volleyball tournament. University Provost Alastair Summerlee and Dino of Dino's Athletics Direct headlined the dunk-tank, which also featured student leaders, police officers and a fire prevention officer. All in all, it was a great opportunity for the city and the university to come together to celebrate our community.
     The success of the Community BBQ depends on a host of wonderful volunteers. Every year, over 150 people choose to donate their time to this community's day. From the individuals who sat on the planning committee to those who helped to serve the food, the event would not have been possible without their time and energy.
     The 29th annual Community BBQ will be held on July 11th, 2002. Information on musical acts, children's activities, and other entertainment will be available closer to the date of the event. For more information, or to order tickets, contact the Central Student Association at 824-4120 x6748. All members of the community are welcome to volunteer; if you are interested, contact John at 824-4120 x8188. We hope to see you in July!

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The Academic Side of Leadership

     This year saw the beginning of a new exciting venture by the Student Leadership Program: the Exploring Leadership and Leadership in Practice Workshop Series, a Certificate Program. The Exploring Leadership Workshop Series comprised of 8 workshops intended for students with an interest in leadership. The topics of these sessions included Leadership 101 and its sequel Leadership 201, Women and Leadership, Ethics and Leadership and many more exciting and informative sessions.
     The Leadership in Practice Workshop Series was created for involved students at the University of Guelph and provided many specific and useful workshops for building skills required in a position of leadership. These included such themes as the Art of Effective Proposal Writing, Promotion and Marketing, and the very successful Art of Public Speaking.
     The bonus to attending these workshops was that an individual who attended 8 or more sessions would receive a certificate. This offer got many students hooked on using their stamp cards to collect the stamps they needed to receive their certificate.
     Throughout the year, this venture earned many words of praise from the more than 100 attendees and presenters alike. Not only did they receive valuable knowledge and insight about leadership, but they also gained skills to help them become stronger leaders. There is no doubt that the students who attended these workshops will use these skills to make a huge difference in our community.

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A Student Solution to a Community Problem:
One student's story of her involvement with Meal Exchange

     Whether we choose to recognize it or not, the issue of hunger is one that faces all communities. It's estimated that there are nearly 19 000 people who live with hunger in Guelph, over 5000 of whom are children under 15 years of age. These statistics clearly call for a variety of solutions.
     One such solution is Meal Exchange. Founded 7 years ago at Wilfrid Laurier University and quickly adopted by U of G, Meal Exchange has grown to over 30 campuses across the country. The idea is simple: students often have extra meal points on their university meal plans, and, through donation, these can be turned into food for charitable organizations.
     As a first year student, I have had the pleasure of becoming involved with Meal Exchange over the last two semesters. The level of student interest and participation in the program, as well as the direct benefit it provides to the community, has been inspirational. Furthermore, Meal Exchange has taught me about poverty and hunger awareness, both locally and nationally.
     Meal Exchange encourages university students through a program called 'Skip-a-Meal' to donate money or meal points from their meal cards in order to help the needy. The collected points and monies are used to purchase food and other necessary items through Hospitality Services' wholesale contractors. Student volunteers then deliver the food to the community organizations, and so learn about those groups and the challenges they face.
     This year has seen the Meal Exchange program grow to 20 volunteer committee members, with more than 100 people participating campus wide in the promotion of the organization. In the winter semester, over 1,000 people donated points and money, raising over $12,000. An additional $8,500 was collected in the fall semester, meaning that our grand total was over $20,000! This money allowed the group to purchase over 17,000 pounds of food for 16 organizations, including the Guelph Food Bank, Change Now, Women in Crisis, and the Welcome-In Drop In Centre.
     In the midst of the final week of classes and with exams just around the corner, students are beginning to pack up their lives in Guelph and head home for the summer. Meal Exchange will be working with the Guelph Food Bank during this time though a program called 'Clear the Shelves'. This program allows students to donate non-perishable food items and clothing to the food bank. Students are encouraged to 'clear the shelves' of their kitchen and residence rooms in order to minimize the packing load when moving day arrives.
     I have had an incredible experience working with Meal Exchange. I can only hope that it will continue to grow over the next few years, not only in its ability to collect donations from the students at Guelph, but also to educate the student body on issues of poverty and hunger. It is becoming increasingly obvious that our world faces a number of adversities. Fortunately, hunger and poverty are obstacles we can overcome. With the incredible support it has seen from the University of Guelph, it can only continue to make further improvements for our community.

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Nation-Wide Service

     During Reading Week 2002, many students from the University of Guelph embarked on journeys. For a lucky few, the destination wasn't a sandy beach, but it did involve friendships, meaningful experiences, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Students from the University of Guelph were paired with students from the University of British Columbia to help make a difference within the disadvantaged community in the downtown eastside of Vancouver.
     This new project, dubbed "Project Serve Canadian", was a collaborative effort between Citizenship Education Programs at the University of Guelph and the Learning Exchange of UBC. While Citizenship Education Programs promotes active community involvement for U of G students, the Learning Exchange is a program that fosters learning and education among the poor and undereducated within Vancouver. The pairing of these programs allowed student leaders from both universities to collaborate on meaningful projects within Vancouver, and participate in community workshops and experiential education.
     The week featured a balance between education and service. It began with a discussion on issues facing the Downtown Eastside such as drug use, poverty and sub-standard housing. The week also included presentations by agencies in Vancouver addressing housing issues and drug use in the Downtown Eastside, as well as a trip to the UBC Farm. The service portion was scattered throughout the program. Every morning, the group volunteered at the Strathcona Community Gardens (SCG). This work involved many different tasks, including an expansion of the composting capacity of the Gardens. SCG will now be able to compost some of the waste from local businesses and organizations. In addition to learning about the issues, the students were also able to leave the community better than how they found it.
     It is obvious that projects such as this have a deep impact on the community. However, the student participants felt that the project impacted them, as well, in terms of their academics, their future career paths, their role as community citizens, and their understanding of poverty issues. One student even classified the experience as "the highlight of my university career." With all of these benefits and positive impacts, the future for "Project Serve Canadian" looks bright.

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Volunteers for a Day, Volunteers for a Lifetime

     The morning of Saturday, September 22nd found the communities of Guelph, Cambridge and Fergus awash with almost 300 University of Guelph students, faculty and staff members. It was the 4th annual Project Serve, and these people were participating by volunteering with their local non-profit organisations. Teams of students, led by team leaders, are given the opportunity to stick their foot into the world of volunteering for a day. The hope of the program is that they will learn more about campus and community involvement opportunities and will continue to make a difference in their communities for years to come.
     Throughout the month of September, students are given the opportunity to sign up to participate in this worthwhile event. They may chose the type of organisation with which they would like to volunteer: for example, those that address social, environmental, health, or animal welfare issues. On the morning of the event, volunteers are sent out to their assigned organisation in a group of anywhere from 5 to 15 students with one team leader. The team leader may be a faculty or staff member, or a senior student who has participated in the event previously. Participating organisations include seniors' retirement communities, local food banks, Meals on Wheels, the Humane Society, women's shelters, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
     Upon completion of the volunteering project, students are given a chance to discuss their day, and the whole concept of volunteering, with their group and team leader. They are given information on their placement, and any other placement in which they may have been interested, to allow them to pursue a more regular volunteer opportunity.
     The entire event is organized by Citizenship Education Programming. Look for the community to fill up with Project Serve participants for the 5th consecutive year on Saturday, September 28th, 2002. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.uoguelph.ca/~citizen.

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