THUNDER BAY – Students and staff at Confederation College came through when it was needed the most – to the tune of $59,320.
The money, collected during the Thunder Bay school’s Stock the Bank and United Way fundraising campaigns, shows the college’s true sense of community, said Student Union of Confederation College president Jodi Afonso on Monday, after helping to unveil the total amount.
“That is absolutely a huge number and we have such a beautiful community,” Afonso said.
“The culture here at the college is very positive, and not just with the students, who I get to be with every single day. But also all the staff and the employees, everyone that’s involved to try to raise this money because they know the students are in need.”
The campaigns raised $15,130 for the United Way, a further $16,940 for student awards and $27,250 for Stock the Bank in support of the recently created student emergency fund, which provides grants to students with unexpected expenses that arise, impeding their ability to complete their studies.
They also collected 3,907 food items for the emergency food bank, which was used last year by more than 200 students.
College president Jim Madder called the results absolutely spectacular.
“These last two weeks they’ve done a phenomenal job of raising money for our students, for all of the work we’re doing in the community,” Madder said.
“I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done.”
During the presentation, held in the Student Commons, Afonso announced SUCCI had won a Landmark Award from the College Student Alliance after being nominated by students following last year’s Stock the Bank campaign.
“As the northern-most college, we sometimes face unique challenges of not having access to the same resources of opportunities a larger college in a big city might. For us to be recognized by those same colleges for doing something extraordinary is a true honour,” she said.
“We hope our campaign inspires other colleges to establish similar campaigns in support of their students.”
