September 7, 2024, marked the 50th year that Mt. A has rallied student volunteers in support of Shinerama, Canada’s largest post-secondary fundraiser. Throughout that time, the University has raised over $700,000 for Cystic Fibrosis Canada, and won “Best Overall Campaign” five times in the last 15 years. This year, the University was one of 19 institutions that joined forces to raise money in support of those living with cystic fibrosis, a fatal genetic disease that attacks the lungs and digestive system, which presently has no cure. On the morning of Shinerama Day, Mt. A’s 116 volunteers woke up bright and early to collect donations, stationed at various businesses across Amherst, Aulac, Riverview, Sackville, and Shediac. Unfortunately, despite the logo of this campaign depicting the sunshine, the forecasted weather for that day called for anything but.
CBC weather reported an estimated 20–30mm of rain was expected to fall throughout the day, with the potential for flooding and poor road conditions. Even so, Mt. A’s student volunteers braved the storm, ready to wash cars and round up donations from the public. However, after two hours in deplorable weather, Shinerama Chair Kris Girouard and her team ultimately made the decision to cancel the rest of Shine Day, vetoing the day’s fundraising in order to get volunteers off of the highway, before the weather became hazardous. “It sucked to do in the moment, but all of our student volunteers did an amazing job at still showing up. Shine day would not have been possible without them” said Girouard.
All was not lost after this decision, as the morning’s work was able to raise over $3000 towards the University’s ultimate goal of $20,000. Shine Day was also preceded by a summer full of other fundraising activities, from partnered events with the town of Tantramar, such as the
Colour-Run and the town’s Canada Day barbeque, to water-pong tournaments, and trivia nights. From these events, paired with the accumulated donations from Shinerama Day, a sum of approximately $11,000 has been raised by Mt. A’s Shine team. “Anything we can get to give to Cystic Fibrosis Canada is great, so even if it wasn’t as high as we were expecting, we still appreciate every cent,” said Girouard.
Another large component of this year’s raised funds were collected thanks to the @mtashinerama Instagram account. For every $1000 milestone that the campaign was able to raise, the MASU team posted a video of them performing challenges, such as attempting to spend 24 hours in the Wallace McCain Student Centre, or spending a day pranking each other at the office. These fun videos were primarily a means of raising awareness for the cause, but provided incentive for the account’s followers to donate.
Girouard elaborated on why this campaign is important to support, stating, “cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease among Canadian children and young adults, and with there being no cure, so many people are still dying from this disease. 4300 [people] are being diagnosed per year, and [one in every 25] individuals carry the cystic fibrosis gene.” By funding the research and care of cystic fibrosis patients, there is hope that there will one day be a future where no one has to endure it.
Missed out on the Shinerama activities so far this year? It is not too late to get in on the action! Each residence on campus has a Shine representative on their executive council, in charge of planning events on behalf of Shinerama meaning that there will be plenty more opportunities this year to get out and have fun for a good cause. Examples of Shine residence events from past years have included bake sales, trivia nights, karaoke, and even getting to pie your house executives. Keep an eye out for more upcoming Shinerama events, as the University is now over halfway to meeting their goal of raising $20,000 for the foundation this year!
