Mohawk College Newsroom

Financial Services students raise $22,000 for Food4Kids

Thu, 05 Mar 2015 14:45:11 -0500

Christine DiCarlo`s second year Financial Services students raised more than $22,000 for Hamilton-based charity Food4Kids.

Mohawk College’s Financial Services students have raised more than $22,000 for Food4kids, a local charity committed to making sure that children aged 5-14 don’t hungry the weekends when they can`t access in-school food programs.

``The money means so much to Food4Kids,`` says Lena Bassford, Executive Director of Food4Kids. ``It will give us an opportunity to expand services to include more children in the program, so they don`t have to worry about where their next meal will come from.``

Lena estimates that there are between 1,200 – 2,000 children who go hungry every weekend in Hamilton. The $22,000 is enough to feed up to 60 of those children, she adds. It will also be used to support Food4Kidz Summer Food program, which supports 400 children through the summer months.

Food4Kids accepts food and cash donations. The food is delivered to participating schools every Friday. The unmarked packages are quietly tucked into the students’ bags and knapsacks before they leave for the weekend. Each package contains enough healthy, nutritious food for an entire weekend.

This is the second year in a row that Christine’s Financial Services students have raised funds for Food4Kids. In previous years, the class focused its efforts on getting people to donate to Canadian Blood Services and raised funds for the Rotary Club. The annual challenge helps students hone their sales skills, which they will need to approach prospective clients if they want to succeed in the Financial Services sector. It’s also chance for the students to impress potential employers.

Topping this year’s list of students who raised the most funds was Financial Services student and MSA President Elect Luke Baylis who raised more than $5,400. Luke was followed by Justin Drinkwater who raised $3,690, Aaron Neal who raised $2,640, Carlee McQueen who raised $2,410, and Katy Davoli who raised $1,000.

This is the first time the second-year Financial Services students have raised funds for Food4Kids. In previous years, the class has focused its efforts on getting people to donate to Canadian Blood Services and last year raised funds for the Rotary Club. The annual challenge helps students hone their sales skills, which they will need to approach prospective clients if they want to succeed in the Financial Services sector. It’s also chance for the students to impress potential employers.

Financial Services students raise more than $21,000 or Food4Kids

Mon, 31 Mar 2014 15:10:54 -0400

Christine CiCarlo's second-year Financial Services class raised more than $21,300 for Food4Kids.

Mohawk College's Financial Services students have raised more than $21,300 for Food4kids, a local charity committed to making sure that children aged 5-14 don't hungry the weekends.

The $21,000 will be enough to feed 50 children every week for one school year, says Food4Kids Executive Director Lena Bassford. So successful was the fundraiser, she adds, that Food4Kids is using the money to launch a weekend food program at another school in Hamilton and will name that program in Mohawk's honour. The official launch will happen later this year.

Food4Kids accepts food and cash donations. The food is delivered to participating schools every Friday. The unmarked packages are quietly tucked into the students' bags and knapsacks before they leave for the weekend. Each package contains enough healthy, nutritious food for an entire weekend.

"Without these donations these kids would have nothing. They would go hungry the entire weekend," says Lena.

For many parents the program not only helps feed their children but also helps ease the financial burden, she says. Many work two or more jobs to make ends meet. This program means they can spend a little more time at home with their kids.

This is the first time the second-year Financial Services students have raised funds for Food4Kids. In previous years, the class has focused its efforts on getting people to donate to Canadian Blood Services and last year raised funds for the Rotary Club. The annual challenge helps students hone their sales skills, which they will need to approach prospective clients if they want to succeed in the Financial Services sector. It's also chance for the students to impress potential employers.

Financial Services students save 759 lives through Blood Donor Challenge

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:24:03 -0500

Mohawk College Financial Services students (l-r) Clara Crawford, Amanda Dehaan, Jonathan Derby, Anthony Bordignon, BiYi Mai, and Stephen Baudler took top honours in this year's Blood Donor Challenge getting a total of 52 successful blood donations.

2012 was another successful year for Christine DiCarlo's Financial Services students who have earned a reputation for being exceptionally good at getting people to donate blood. This year the students outperformed last year's record-setting class bringing in a total of 253 donations (compared to 211 last year), which works out to 759 lives saved.

The annual blood drive helps students hone their sales skills, which they will need to approach prospective clients if they want to succeed in the Financial Services sector. It's also chance for the students to impress potential employers.

A total of seven students teams took part in this year's challenge.

Mohawk College launching Community Builders Project, 100+ students to renovate North End community centre servery

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:08:05 -0500

Mohawk College professor Brad MacDonald will get a helping hand when he returns with 100 students to renovate a community centre in Hamilton’s north end during March Break.

Students and faculty from Mohawk’s McKeil School of Business and Mohawk’s Graphic Design Production program will join forces with MacDonald and his Building Renovation and Carpentry Apprenticeship students to launch the Mohawk College Community Builders Project. The first annual project will have the students and faculty renovate the servery at St. Peter’s HARRRP Community Centre on Main Street East.

Approximately 100 Building Renovation and Carpentry Apprenticeship students will renovate the community centre’s servery and chancel in early March. To support the renovations, students from the McKeil School of Business Financial Services program will solicit sponsorships and gifts-in-kind, the School’s Event Management students will organize a community celebration and donor appreciation event while Graphic Design students will produce promotional materials for the project.

MacDonald has incorporated a week-long community renovation project into his program for the past three years. “Students get hands-on learning and they get to help build a stronger community,” says MacDonald, who got his students involved at St. Peter’s HARRRP this past March.

During the 2011 Mohawk President’s Breakfast, MacDonald received a $5,000 MaryLynn West-Moynes Grant for Inspiring Learning, Leadership and Citizenship to support the Mohawk Community Builders Project. Students will replace flooring, cabinets and counters and install an island in the community centre’ servery and complete renovations in the former chancel (the space around the altar for clergy and the choir). The wish list for appliances in the servery includes a commercial dishwasher, two electric stoves, two microwaves and two refrigerators.

HARRRP Executive Director Rev. Sue-Ann Ward says the renovated servery will support North Hamilton neighbours and community groups who meet free-of-charge at the community centre. St. Peter’s HARRRP is open for 12 hours a day and six days of the week.

“Our new servery will be well used by many neighbors,” says Ward. “The servery will be used to prepare after-school snacks for children from the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre, treats for seniors after their Tai Chi lessons and cups of tea for members of the Muslim Women’s Committee. Our new servery will make our centre an even more welcoming place for all of our partners to gather and create healthy and vibrant communities.”

To support the Mohawk Community Builders Project at St. Peter’s HARRRP, contact Financial Services professor Christine DiCarlo at 905.575.1212 ext. 3619.

Online applications will be accepted later this Spring from nonprofits interested in working with students and faculty on the 2013 Mohawk College Community Builders Project.

Mohawk College delivers a quality education to 12,000 full-time and 4,000 apprenticeship students and 42,000 continuing education registrants. In the Ontario government’s latest key performance indicator survey, Mohawk finished first among all colleges in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area for quality of learning and programs, services and facilities and overall student and graduate satisfaction.

HARRRP is a non-profit charitable organization that runs community centres in specific Hamilton neighbourhoods that provide free programs and services to help residents deal with the impact of poverty and other challenges. The north-end neighbourhoods served by HARRRP are “at-risk” in terms of income, health, school graduation, crime, housing, food security and all of the other usual yardsticks.