WATERLOO, ON, Jan. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - For the second year, the Colour Me Educated Campaign will be launching by trapping seven University of Waterloo students in a dumpster in the Student Life Center. The wacky fundraising event, scheduled for January 25, was such a hit on campus last year that students demanded an encore.
Colour Me Educated is a fundraising initiative designed to raise awareness of the barriers Ontario students face in accessing education. Funds raised by the campaign support Pathways Kitchener, a branch of Pathways to Education Canada. Pathways assists students in economically disadvantaged communities graduate from high school and successfully transition into further education and/or training.
"This campaign brings awareness to the issue of access to education," said Natalie Cockburn, Feds' VP Education. "Feds is very proud to be a part of it."
Cockburn, along with six society representatives, will be spending a day in the converted dumpster, which has a large window on one side. The society reps include: Leah Allen, Engineering Society "A" President; Ryan Cuzzi, Biology Undergraduate Students Club President; Kevin Seemangal, Arts Student Union VP-Executive; Kevin Knapp, Environment Student Society President; Harrison Gross, Math Society President and Andrew Noble, Applied Health Sciences Undergraduate Members (AHSUM) President.
The students will be publically escorted to the event by a parade of students, complete with a marching band. They will climb into the waste bin at 11 a.m. and to get out, each student will have to reach their fundraising goal of $100. Paint cans will be set up so that members of the uWaterloo community can donate money to free the individuals. Those lucky enough to reach their goal may be kept in the bin longer by donors at a rate of $2 per minute.
"No one should be denied an education because of circumstances that may be out of their control," said Cockburn. "Pathways to Education attempts to break down the academic, social and financial barriers that may prevent young people from accessing post-secondary education."
At the end of the annual nine week campaign, on March 28, the student society for the faculty that raises the most money will have the chance to pour their colour of paint on the President of the University of Waterloo. Last year's Colour Me Educated campaign raised over $4,000, $1,223 of which was raised at last year's launch event.
The University of Waterloo's Federation of Students exists to serve, empower and represent the 39,000 undergraduate students of the university. The Feds are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Federation and are charged with running the organization in compliance with Feds policies, procedures, and bylaws. Additional information can be found at www.feds.ca
MEDIA CONTACT
Nicole Joron
Student Program Coordinator
Office: 519-888-4567 ext. 31139
Cell: 226-789-0553
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