2018 was a year of transitions for the University of Waterloo Association for Guide Dogs (UWAGD). Formerly a chapter of the Lion's Club, we have a new name, but the same mission; raising funds to purchase guide dogs for those in need. By changing our name, we were able to expand our membership and open our club to more students who want to participate, which we hope will translate into reaching our goal faster and being able to provide more for those in need in the community. This year we grew to 86 members, with a new executive team made up of our President Emily Finlayson (Class of 2020), co-vice presidents Kristen Cooke (Class of 2021) and Vanessa Tsui (Class of 2021), treasurer Jessica Chong (Class of 2021), and secretary Lauren Lai (Class of 2021). Lillian Liao has taken responsibility as our faculty liaison for the club.
We do all of our fund raising at two events during the school year: Chuck-A-Puck during the Corneal Cup Hockey Tournament and our Annual Coffee House during the winter term. The Annual Coffee House is definitely our biggest event and is always widely anticipated by students and faculty alike. The Coffee House gives students who wish to show off any talent of their choosing a place to perform surrounded by friends. Students, faculty, and friends are invited to perform their talent making for a wonderfully diverse show. This year we had performances spanning styles from Highland dancing to the steel drum. "It was a great experience getting to play alongside a steel drum. I had never heard one in person until shortly before the event, and I imagine I wasn't alone in that." Said Kyle Thiessen (Class of 2020) who accompanied Renee Hamer (Class of 2020) on guitar while she played.
Guests of the event were able to snack on delicious “Pup-cakes” as well as many other treats, and hot drinks while they enjoyed the show. The hilarious Brandon Bzovey (Class of 2019) and Jared Zeeben (Class of 2019) kept the audience rolling in laughter as they acted as MCs for the event for the second year in a row. We also held a raffle with prizes from various community donors including Jack’s Family Restaurant, and Carlsberg with Dr. Natalie Hutchings taking home a stylized Snellen chart. We are very grateful that this year’s event was a huge success due to the contributions of everyone who performed, baked, donated prizes, and volunteered their time. Thanks to all of their hard work and efforts we are on track to be able to purchase a guide dog for someone in need at the end of 2019. If you want to help out or participate in future events please send us an email at wagdclub@gmail.com, or follow us on Facebook.
