McGill24, the University’s annual day of giving, is back for its fifth year on March 11, 2020. This digital fundraiser unites McGillians across the world, encouraging them to imagine the difference they can make when they come together to support causes that matter most to them – including those championed by students through Seeds of Change, McGill’s crowdfunding platform.
Alex Grant and Gio Mrakade are two such students hoping to garner support of their initiative to improve patient care at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital). After three years of passing by the facility on the way to their Microbiology and Immunology classes, they began to wonder how they could help patients there. Then, a personal experience as a patient at The Neuro convinced Grant that action was needed.
“We wanted to help bring about meaningful and long-lasting improvements to patient care,” says Grant, who discovered that cost was preventing The Neuro from updating its physiotherapy equipment. He and Mrakade turned to Seeds of Change, where students can ask the McGill community to lend support to their initiatives.
And on McGill24, a contribution to a Seeds of Change project goes even further: donations made on March 11 to any Seeds of Change project will be amplified by generous donors who have stepped up to match gifts, up to dollar-for-dollar.
Student groups have benefitted from similar matching opportunities in previous McGill24 campaigns. In 2019, 41 Seeds of Change projects comprising more than 125 student volunteers raised nearly $230,000 on McGill24.
That included McGill Engineers in Action (EIA), the local chapter of a U.S.-based non-profit, whose work includes building pedestrian bridges in Latin America and Africa to give isolated people access to essential resources. EIA fundraised through Seeds of Change in 2019 and received more than $4,600, thanks in part to matching funds on McGill24. This support allowed civil engineering students and McGill EIA co-founders Leïlah Sory and Tarek Abou-Sleiman to spend a month in eSwatini in July 2019, where they completed the construction of a footbridge.
“The success of our first project in eSwatini has inspired us to go back,” says Maureen Foading, VP-Sponsorship for EIA. “This year, we’ll send five students to work alongside University of Colorado students to build a footbridge in Mbhonconco that will grant safer access to markets, health clinics, churches, and primary and high schools.”
Eager to take advantage of this boost in funding, EIA is once again taking part in McGill24.
"This year, we hope to achieve our crowdfunding goal of $10,000,” says Sory, who serves as project manager on site in eSwatini. “On McGill24, our message to everyone else is that every dollar makes a difference for isolated communities and students' experiential learning journey!”
With more than 50 projects on tap for McGill24, students are hopeful that the McGill community will help them reach their goals.
Student-athletes often use Seeds of Change to raise funds for their teams, for assistance covering expenses incurred by renting training spaces, making essential equipment upgrades, and traveling to away games. These costs frequently fall on the students-athletes themselves, a demand that limits the general accessibility of sports.
McGill sports teams are fundraising not only for their athletics endeavours; they’re also looking for support of important community initiatives. In May 2020, Martlet Basketball is planning a 12-day service trip to Manila, Philippines, to promote women and girls there who play basketball.
“We will offer skills-development sessions and coaching clinics to local teams,” says guard Geraldine Cabillo-Abante. “Our athletes want to immerse themselves in a new culture and get to play basketball internationally. We know it will be a powerful growth experience for the whole team!”
But a trip across the world doesn’t come cheap: the team has a $20,000 fundraising goal to bring the project to fruition. “We’re counting on our McGill24 supporters so we can give young women in the Philippines a great basketball experience similar to the one we’ve been fortunate enough to have,” says Cabillo-Abante.
Learn more about McGill24 and Seeds of Change.