Socially-minded faculty councils at the University of Manitoba are working to make a difference in their communities.

Inderveer Mahal and Priya Sharma, both third-year science students and members of the Science Students’ Association (SSA), are in charge of a new initiative this year which seeks to support a different local charity every two months.

Last year, Mahal decided to create a new position within the association that focused on organizing fundraisers after witnessing the success of the Shinerama campaign on campus in support of the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

This year, she holds the position of director of charitable organization, while Sharma acts as the charitable organization representative on the SSA.

“We want other students to know about the charities and what they do. We also want to raise awareness for them as well as raise money, because that’s a big part of how charities do the things that they do,” said Mahal.

Mahal felt that although the faculty of science is one of the largest on campus, events held by science students are not usually received with enthusiasm, compared to events held by other faculties.

“We want people to know that science kids do more than just study,” she said.

The positions are the first of their kind under the SSA.

“We were noticing that the [SSA] had so many things we were focusing on like renovations and events for students, but there was never any kind of reaching out,” said Sharma.
Mahal said that many students in science do volunteer work based on the careers that they are looking to get into.

“There are a lot of human aspects to the jobs [ . . . ] but within our science council there was nothing that really represented that,” she said.
“[ . . . ] I think this is just kind of a natural extension of what we do in our spare time,” she continued.

The pair has already decided what charities they will focus on this year, presenting a new one every two months. The first two events of the year are dedicated to raising funds for CancerCare Manitoba, while November and December will see a toy drive for children in hospitals.

Both students noted the importance of choosing charities that people can connect to.

“We tried to pick a diverse range of charities,” said Sharma.

January and February will focus on fundraising for the United Way of Winnipeg while March and April will be dedicated to the Sunshine Foundation, a Canadian charity for children with severe disabilities or life-threatening illnesses.

“We thought we would start off local first since there is usually a pretty big need that people don’t really recognize,” said Mahal.

Mahal said that students already want to be a part of the new initiative, as there have been quite a few applicants for the new positions.

“There is definitely student interest in being involved,” she said.

Although the group is technically part of UMSU, the group acts independently and has not approached UMSU about their events.

Other faculty councils are also working on fundraising efforts for various charities throughout the year.

Trisha Knowles, president of the Arts Student Body Council (ASBC), said that her council is planning to have a “Design Your Own Shoe” event to promote the shoe company TOMS.

“For every shoe that you buy, they send a shoe to kids in Africa [ . . . ] or somewhere in South America,” she said.

Students will be invited to decorate their own shoes to take home, in order to raise money for the company.

Dorothy Chu, communications director of the Manitoba Law Students’ Association, explained that the new initiative they started this year, the Social Outreach Committee, was formed as a way for law students to give back to the community and to promote volunteerism.

“I think it really reflects the pro bono culture the students want as part of the law profession,” said Chu.

“It’s also a nice way to dispel any myths the public has about lawyers and to get involved with the community.”

UMSU President, Heather Laube, explained that UMSU works together with the student faculty councils on different projects and initiatives throughout the year, from social events to dealing with the university administration, and encourage them to access UMSU resources such as website hosting and assistance with promotions and event planning.

In terms of fundraising, Laube said that each council can determine what is best for their members.

“Each council is accountable to their own members. [ . . . ] We hope they honestly represent the wishes and interests in their home faculty, and I think that in the vast majority of circumstances they do that,” she said.