Friday, November 6, 2015

Pay it forward with a Random Act of Kindness today

Today is Random Act of Kindness Day in over 250 communities across Canada. Once again, the University of Waterloo has partnered with The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation and the Stratford Perth Community Foundation to celebrate the power of kindness in our #UWCommunity. 

“Our University and the communities in which it operates are inextricably linked and we know that we are stronger and more successful together,” says Sandra Banks, vice-president, university relations. “In celebrating Random Act of Kindness Day we will promote the values of inclusiveness, equity, and wellness that will help to deepen the strong bond with our neighbours.”

Throughout the day, students, faculty, and staff dubbed the “Kindness Crew” spread kindness with small, yet meaningful deeds for other across campus and throughout the region. This year, we are paying it forward by sending a group of Waterloo volunteers to a local grocery store to help brighten people's days. In addition, there will be various kindness-themed activations set up around campus from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. including: 

• Card making, language lessons, free upgrades, giveaways and more in the SLC
• For those hard at work in the DP Library, keep your eyes peeled for some sweet treats
• Don't miss your chance to add to your fridge magnet collection in the Davis Centre 
• To keep the doctor away, head on over to Health Services for your free apple 
• Forgot your pen and notepad? Watch for Retail Services reps throughout main campus
• Be on the look out for delicious baked goods made by our Graduate Students Association 
• Not in Waterloo? Get your kindness fix region-wide at one of our satellite campuses 

Join in the kindness conversation and share your stories with us using #UWaterlooRAK.  

Making a difference on the scariest night of the year

This is the latest in a series of #UWCommunity stories that feature Waterloo in the community.

As darkness fell on October 31, non-perishable food items were collected throughout our city streets in support of the national hunger-awareness initiative, Trick or Eat.

Created by Meal Exchange as a youth-led, cross-Canada event, Trick or Eat puts a new spin on the annual night of giving – Halloween. Held on the scariest night of the year, thousands of Trick or Eaters throughout the country go door-to-door collecting food items for local community organizations, and funds to support students advocating for food for all.

The University of Waterloo is one of over 100 communities to participate in Trick or Eat, providing a fun and engaging way to showcase our strong student leadership and give back to our community. Organized by the Federation of Students again this year through its student-run service, the Feds Food Bank, a three-day food drive was hosted on campus to help collect donations prior to all hallows eve. 

Volunteers from the University headed out for Trick or Eat at 4 p.m. on Halloween night, knocking on doors across Waterloo until 8 p.m., collecting a total of 2380 pounds of food for both the Feds Food Bank and the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

“It’s always exciting for students and Feds to support this cause each year,” said Brendan Lowther, Services Manager for Feds. “Students, staff, and faculty are able to donate to the Feds Food Bank anytime during the year. Donation bins are available outside the Food Bank office in the SLC, as well as in the Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries.”

One in eight Canadian households experience food insecurity, meaning they don’t have sufficient access to the food they need. By getting involved with Trick or Eat and partnering with the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, the Feds not only take part in a national day of action, but also provide young people with an opportunity to come together and actively make a difference on the issue of hunger on our campus and in our community.

More information about the Feds Food Bank is available on Feds.ca.

Make the Month with the United Way

by James Skidmore. This is an excerpt of a piece published on the University of Waterloo United Way campaign's website.

Our campus United Way campaign is now officially over (although I hasten to add: we accept donations all year long!), and we'll be announcing how much money we collected as soon as we can.

In the meantime, I want to talk to you about a really neat interactive game that the United Way has created called "Make the Month."

Make the month is an "interactive digital poverty simulation" developed by the United Way of Calgary and Area in 2014. Its premise is simple: one in ten Canadians live in poverty. In fact, that's the first thing you learn when you go to the game's website:

But do those of us who don't live in poverty understand what that's really like? Probably not. So this game confronts us with the choices that those living on low incomes have to make just to get through the month. Not only does the game remind you that decisions you might take for granted entail some tough choices for others, it also talks about how these choices impact your overall well-being.

This fall the game was expanded to reflect the situations of a few more areas in Canada, and Kitchener-Waterloo was part of the expansion. We hope next year to incorporate "Make the Month" into our campus campaign. It can be done online as individual exercise, or it can be done "live" with a group. We think this would be a great activity to add to the educational component of our campaign: volunteers could run the simulation in their areas, or instructors could play it with students in their courses. There so many possibilities.

I recently played the game myself, so below are a couple of screenshots that will give you the flavour of how the game works.

Read the rest of the story on the United Way campaign's website.

Friday's notes

Catering and Conference Services has recently re-branded and is inviting the University community to a Catering and Event Services Open House on Monday, November 9 at Federation Hall from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. They will be showcasing their new facility and sharing their updated menu. Light refreshments will be served.

On Tuesday, November 10, the Centre for Career Action will be hosting a networking opportunity and career discussion for Postdocs, Master’s students and PhD candidates that includes a panel of four Waterloo staff members with PhDs on the subject of “Alternative-Academic Careers”.

Register today to learn about the wide-ranging kinds of careers your graduate degree can lead to.

The panelists are:

• Sacha Geer, PhD in Cultural Anthropology (McMaster). Manager, Research Ethics, Office of Research;
• Marc Gibson, PhD in Life Sciences/Drug Discovery (Dundee), MBA (Laurier). Life Sciences Advisor, Velocity;
• Mary Power, PhD in Microbiology (Calgary). Faculty of Science Liaison, Centre for Teaching Excellence; and
• Katharine Tuerke, PhD in Neuroscience (Guelph). Science Communications Officer, Faculty of Science.

A new Volunteer Centre, developed and operated by the Federation of Students, will have its grand opening on Tuesday, November 10 at 11:00 a.m. in the Student Life Centre Great Hall.

President Feridun Hamdullahpur, the Feds Vice-President, Internal Maaz Yasin, and Volunteer Action Centre of Kitchener Waterloo and Area Executive Director Jane Hennig will be speaking at the grand opening event. 

Along with unique, engaging opportunities available on campus and abroad, the Volunteer Centre database will list options available through the Volunteer Action Centre of Kitchener Waterloo and Area for students. Opportunities range from therapeutic recreation in the community to volunteering for short-term events on campus like the Fall Open House. The University community is invited to attend the event to learn more.

Information about the Volunteer Centre is available online. 

On Wednesday, November 11, Keystone is Celebrating Our Caring Community by presenting the University of Waterloo’s Habitat for Humanity Build Team. The event will be held from noon till 1:00 p.m. in QNC 0101.

This team of volunteers is comprised of faculty, staff retirees and alumni – they are an inspiring group of individuals and are a perfect representation of this caring community. They will be sharing their recent build experiences in PEI and the Yukon.  Anyone can attend, but registration is required.