Fund RaisingBy Leonidas Eftaxias

Students from the Loyalist College public relations program will be hosting a fundraiser in support of World Vision in the schools cafeteria on March 20 to will demonstrate their camaraderie with fellow students across the world.

As students, they understand and appreciate the need for even the most basic school supplies, co-organizer Alexander Sancton says. That is why they chose this particular initiative in an attempt to connect Loyalist with less fortunate students around the world.

“As a student I realize the importance of an education, and personally feel quite privileged to have had the opportunities I've had. To be able to provide even the most basic supplies like pencils and scribblers to allow a child to learn makes me feel great,” Sancton says.

Donations made will bring new school supplies to children in need. Because World Vision already has the school supplies, donated by various North American companies, donations cover the cost of shipping. Therefore, a $10 donation ships $120 worth of new school supplies.

After having spent time on a field study tour through the East African countries of Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya, Sancton has great confidence in this campaign.

“In Rwanda, I saw World Vision's operations first hand, and visited a school that had been built on money donated by Canadians. I know that the money donated to World Vision goes to a good use,” Sancton says.

While the need for school supplies around the world is great, the students from the PR program understand they cannot change the world in a day. That is why they chose to have the donations from this fundraiser go towards buying supplies for one entire classroom.

“Each classroom costs $50 to fill with supplies and if we meet our target of $200 in donations, we will supply four classrooms with over $2,400 worth of school supplies,” Sancton says.

In addition to helping people in need, this campaign is a great practical exercise for public relations students.

“This is a great way to test out the things we have learned. It is one thing to learn about a skill in class, but it is a whole different ball game to actually apply those skills in the real world. This fundraiser is giving us all confidence, which we can then take into our internships and future jobs,” Sancton says.

Sancton, who has already studied International Development at Dalhousie University says that this campaign is a great overlap of his two fields of study and hopes to work for an internationally focused not-for-profit organization in the future.

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.