Carleton students raised $50,000 for Shinerama this year, less than the $60,000 Carleton raised for the charity last year.
Both the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) and the Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) contributed to Shinerama’s fundraising efforts this year. Teams of Fall Orientation volunteers also raised funds throughout the summer and during Carleton’s Frosh week.
This year, the goal was to raise $70,000, according to Carleton Shinerama’s website.
Despite raising less money than last year, this year’s campaign was still a success, said Grace Valentine, the Shinerama program advisor at Carleton.
“The amount raised this year ranks in our top five this past decade,” Valentine said in an email. “So it was a pretty great year.”
Shinerama is an annual fundraiser at many colleges and universities across Canada, and seeks to raise money for those affected by Cystic Fibrosis, a disease that affects the digestive system and lungs.
CUSA president Fahd Alhattab said CUSA’s fundraising total was in the $800 range, a similar amount to what they raised last year.
“Last year was a bit of an anomaly, I think we hit numbers that we weren’t expecting,” Alhattab said of the $60,000 Carleton’s campaign raised last year.
RRRA President Hyder Naqvi also noted that 2015 was a strong year.
In 2015, RRRA hosted a gala in collaboration with Mayor Jim Watson that raised $5,700. According to Valentine, the event was a major factor in the success of last year’s fundraising campaign.
Additionally, last year’s RRRA executive donated their salaries during the week of Fall Orientation to Shinerama, which added another $600, for an overall total of $6,300.
This year, RRRA’s contribution to Shinerama was approximately $600—significantly less than last year’s total of $6,300.
The student union did not expect to raise less money than it did last year.
“We were quite positive in terms of how much we could raise,” Naqvi said.
Both CUSA and RRRA implemented the ‘add-a-dollar’ campaign across their businesses, which allowed students to add a dollar to their purchase at the student unions’ businesses as a donation to Shinerama.
According to Valentine, Shinerama did not expect to raise less money than last year.
“The goal is always to raise more, as every dollar in the program makes a difference and has the capacity to enhance research towards a cure,” she said.
This year’s fundraising events included a raffle for Bluesfest passes, a dodgeball tournament, Ravens clothing sales and a CUSA mini-golf event.
Fall Orientation volunteers will present a cheque for this year’s fundraising total on Sept. 23, during halftime at the Ottawa Redblacks game.
According to Valentine, efforts to improve fundraising for next year will be undertaken by new Fall Orientation co-ordinators who will be hired later this fall.
Carleton’s Shinerama campaign will continue through the end of September.
