Through a raucous trivia night at a Glebe pub and a glamorous dinner at the National Arts Centre, students from the Faculty of Public Affairs have raised roughly $7,000 to support emergency relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti and elsewhere.
The MAPA Society, for master’s students in public policy and administration, had already been planning a trivia night when an earthquake ripped through Haiti on January 12. When the
news broke, the society decided to make the event a fundraiser.
“I think it’s really important for students to be involved where they can—whether it’s supporting an international organization or something local,” says Danielle Hoegy, the MAPA Society’s outgoing vice-president, community.
More than 80 people participated in the event, held February 12 at the Arrow & Loon pub and hosted by local trivia writer Paul Paquet. Through a $5 registration fee and a door-prize raffle, the society raised $750 for the Humanitarian Coalition, donating half to Haiti emergency relief and half to the coalition’s general emergency fund.
On March 5, students in the Norman Paterson School of
International Affairs (NPSIA) held their annual Benefit Soiree at the National Arts Centre. The dinner included a speech by Canadian Red Cross CE O and secretary general Conrad Sauvé, as well as a silent auction.
“Given what happened in Haiti, we decided there would be no more worthwhile cause for us to focus on than the relief efforts,” says Julia Garant, co-chair of the event’s organizing committee. “We looked at it as a great opportunity for the NPSIA community to kind of come together—alumni, faculty, staff, students—and do what we could.”
Local businesses donated goods and services, and several members of the diplomatic community attended the event, which raised $7,000 for the Canadian Red Cross.