March 20: The CMESA Raises Funds through Creative Initiatives

The College of Management and Economics Students' Association represents the interests of students pursuing their Bachelor of Commerce degree, and provides them with opportunities to attend conferences, competitions, social and networking events and resources for growth. The CMESA raises funds for various organizations throughout the year, and the group has been involved with two recent events - 5 Days for the Homeless and the CMESA Dash of Colour.

5 Days for the Homeless is a national charity campaign founded in 2005 by students from the School of Business at the University of Alberta. It is a five day campaign in which university commerce students live "homeless" on their campus to raise money and awareness for a local charity. The CMESA takes on this initiative every year, and has raised nearly $20,000 over the last four years. This year, five Guelph students were homeless from March 10th-15th to raise money for the Guelph Wyndham House - a registered charity downtown that provides shelter and services to those most in need in our community, with special focus on youth. This year's participants, Connor Trendov, Aryn Clarke, Brit Ho, Aswhin Lal and Andrew Wright, were successful in raising nearly $4,500 for the Wyndham House.
Jenna Cross (CMESA), Aryn Clarke, Ashwin Lal, Connor Trendov, Brit Ho, Andrew Wright and Nichole Reynolds (CMESA)

On March 16th, The CMESA hosted it's first ever Dash of Colour on the University campus - a five kilometre walk or run to support The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. Race participants were doused with coloured paint powder at each kilometre to boost morale and to add to the excitement. The powder is an all natural, mineral-based substance that is completely washable and safe for both humans and the environment. From pledges and registration fees this year, the CMESA was able to raise nearly $8,000 for the Foundation. Participants included 356 registered runners as well as nearly 50 volunteers who assisted with set up, clean up and paint throwing at each station. This event was highly successful and the CMESA may host the race as an annual event.
Sylvia Han, Michelle Mak, Natalie Pond and Megan Solomon