St. Stephen’s University Campaign Supports Community Initiatives
ST. STEPHEN – St. Stephen’s University’s Community Appreciation Campaign shone a spotlight on six non-profit organizations based in New Brunswick that have been supporting their community throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’ve heard lots of stories about charities and non-profits who are actively supporting their community, said Jacob Rose, St. Stephen’s University’s Marketing Coordinator.
The campaign was created specifically for the pandemic and had a very quick turnaround, coming together in just one week.
“We’re thankful very much for social media during this time in order to get the word out. It was a fascinating campaign to start because we had the idea and then, we just hit the ground running with it,” said Rose. “The fact that we were able to pull it off and help so many organizations on relatively short notice, without any real obstacles is something that we’re really excited about and we can’t wait to do it again at some point.”
“It was incredible to me that we could make something happen so quickly,” said Dr. Margaret Anne Smith, President of St. Stephen’s University. “This quick campaign, and I say highly successful one, is one example of the kinds of things I would like to see us doing more of as a university.”
Rose agrees, saying the 45-year old liberal arts university wanted to encourage young people ages 16-to-24 to get involved in their communities and learn who the changemakers are in their local area.
Anyone living in New Brunswick in the age demographic, which St. Stephen’s University engages with most, was invited to nominate an organization they believed to be worthy.
“People in university and in high school right now, they want to make a difference and don’t necessarily have the tools or the resources to kickstart some of that change,” said Rose. “It makes sense to empower those students.”
The campaign ran from May 6-20. Applicants filled out the campaign form, told the committee panel about the non-profit they appreciate, and shared why they thought it deserved support.
Originally the selection committee was supposed to pick three organizations but the response to the campaign, having received 39 submissions, led to expanding the number of recipients. The six groups will be given $500 each and $100 in local gift cards will be given to the individuals who shared their stories.
Dr. Smith says she was and wasn’t surprised by the number of nominations, based on the persuasively written and inspiring stories each applicant submitted.
“Jacob went to social media; that’s how you reach that demographic,” she said. “I think it gave people something positive to interact with, but I was delighted that many young people took the time to go online and fill out a nomination form.”
The campaign had a large variety of submissions. Dr. Smith said half of the six recipients focused on food security, others are long-standing organizations that have gone above and beyond to serve the community providing around-the-clock care at the risk of their own health.
The Community Appreciation Campaign’s organization and student recipients are: Sexual Violence NB (nominator: Claire Hermiston), Families Helping Families (nominator: Molly Jones), Youth Impact Jeunesse (nominator: Keira Wood), Greater Saint John Emergency Food Program (nominator: Jenaldy Guilang), The Humanity Project (nominator: Brennan Masson) and First Steps NB (nominator: Anna Maria S.).
Dr. Smith says food security has been an enormous need during this time by people, young and old, who have been hurt by job loss and economic insecurity. “Lots of organizations have stepped up, really quite heroically working all around-the-clock to make sure there’s food.”
Deanna Harris, the university’s Admissions Coordinator, notified the student nominators and organizations once the final decisions were made. Rose and Dr. Smith said both the students and organizations were ecstatic about being nominated.
“A lot of organizations, they’re taking in donations and some of the donations are just imperative to continuing to do this work,” said Rose. “Everyone’s very thankful for it. A lot of groups weren’t aware of the campaign, they didn’t know that they were nominated, so I think they were pleasantly surprised as well.”
Many of the groups are run by volunteers, who are facing their own pandemic issues. If there are paid staff, they are paid the typical non-profit salary.
“These are very, very hardworking, committed people,” Dr. Smith continued. “These are our local heroes and we’re really delighted that we’ve had enough press, not just to make some financial donations, but to draw attention to this work and give them a little bit of love.”
The delivery of the donations are in progress and expected to be delivered by next week.
Dr. Smith shared there have been conversations about doing a similar campaign in the fall, depending on what the academic term looks like with the pandemic. She is especially interested in how the Community Appreciation Campaign sparked thought and discussion about how we can remain hopeful in a difficult time.
“I’m interested in equipping people to look at the world through a lens of hope,” she said. “Sometimes weathering a crisis in a positive way means looking for the good, not to overlook difficulties, we need to address the challenges and help fix them, but sometimes our mindset is what enables us to think creatively about how we can help our neighbours.”
St. Stephen’s University is launching the Community Engagement program this Fall. This program will focus on what is unique in the province and develop an academic program that will equip students to study the people, opportunities and challenges here in southern New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada.
Students will be able to put new and applicable ideas to work, with better understandings of the historical patterns, stories, social demographics, resources, and environments that make our communities what they are.
In tandem, SSU’s $11,800 Community Engagement Scholarship is available to three or more New Brunswick students who have shown an active engagement with their community. Passionate about investing in their students and supporting them to become change-makers, SSU is excited to offer a scholarship program specifically for the future change-makers of New Brunswick.
For more information and to apply visit: https://ssu.ca/community-engagement-at-ssu/
This story is sponsored by St. Stephen’s University.