January 11, 2005

THE CADRE @ 19

UPEI Shining Light in Shinerama Campaign: National Chair

Kimberley Johnston Reporter ;

Shinerama’s newest national chairperson is quite impressed with UPEI’s contribution to the national Cystic Fibrosis fund-raiser this year. Drew Dudley, who is also employed at the University of Toronto, says UPEI students did an A-1 job in our efforts and now must build on what we have done.

“I think UPEI reached the pinnacle of what was possible for them Bacomplete bull’s eye, and that’s truly amazing. The great thing about that however, is in doing so, the bar for what is possible gets moved up, and another bull’s eye next year will mean an even larger accomplishment.”

Dudley added UPEI could be used as a shining example for other schools who wish to drastically increase their donations in a single year.

“Tf you think of the growth of Shinerama at a campus as an evolution, UPEI moved forward several years in a single campaign. And while no other school can emulate it exactly, it serves as an example that it can be done, and simply having that example often fuels another school to do the same thing.”

UPEI’s success may not have been possible if not for the spirit and leadership abilities of UPEI’s Shinerama coordinator Ryan McDermott, he said.

“T think Ryan was a huge reason why the UPEI total was so impressive. (Campaigns) are run by people who others want to be around because they

are made to feel like they matter and —

that they are appreciated. Most importantly, people tend to follow those who show them a good time. I think Ryan did an excellent job of rallying people around Shinerama not only because of his personality, but because the plan he was creating was such a good one. In short, I was really

proud of the job that Ryan did, and hope he stays involved in Shinerama in some capacity.”

A humble Ryan MacDermott said he intends on sticking with the Shinerama campaign as long as he possibly can. He is also thinking of other components which can be added to the award-winning mix.

“We had a great Shinerama this year; it went beyond my wildest dreams. It’s pretty much the proudest I’ve ever been of anything. We made a huge jump and hopefully we’ve moved ourselves up the ladder a little and will continue to rise.”

_ “T see our Shinerama this year as only the tip of the iceberg. There were so many things that I wanted to do that I didn’t get a chance to and I know that I'll be involved with Shinerama for as

long as I’m around B which will bea

while.” MacDermott hopes the success of September’s campaign combined with UPEI winning a national award for cystic fibrosis fund-raising efforts will

propel more people to jump on the

Shinerama band wagon next year. MacDermott would also like for the Shinerama torch to be passed on to other UPEI students who recognized his own commitment to the cause and the importance of implementing such a fund- raiser.

“I’m really looking forward to

seeing the freshman class from this year as they get older and hopefully they carry on their great spirit from this year’s Shinerama into the future. If] could wish for one thing from this year’s Shinerama it, would be that this year’s freshman group grab the torch and run with it. They’re the future of the fund- raiser, and I hope that they saw how much I cared about it and will try to work as hard as I did.”

Dudley also has a vision for the future of Shinerama. In his two-year

term he hopes to get larger centers more involved in Shinerama, like Quebec universities and attempting to raise the contributions of Ontario institutions of higher learning. He has _ some other ideas too....

“My overall goal during my term as chairperson is to do whatever I can to make it more likely a student going to a Canadian college or university will become involved in Shinerama somehow, in the hopes that they will find it somewhere near as satisfying as Thave.”

He also outlined some ways of doing that; including building on what each individual university has created and for coordinators to get feedback from participants about activities they would like see happen for Shinerama.

“What truly determines Shinerama’s success is the people who become a part of it B the degree to which they feel what they are doing matters, and how much they enjoy themselves while they do it. The larger the base of people you create that see Shinerama that way, the larger and larger your campaign will become.”

He says UPEI has already learned a number of lessons and now the university has to build on that success.

“At this point, UPEI has got a base of people who have done Shinerama and seen what they can accomplish together.”

Dudley added Shinerama is a perfect choice for university environments that wish to foster a spirit of volunteerism and _ social

responsibility. He said universities can .

often be taken for granted but are a tremendous resource consisting of people who have intellect, ideas and energy to spare.

“T think there are some new trends in higher education right now that might make Shinerama an even more

appealing part of campus life. More and more Orientation Weeks are looking for “dry events and events that foster civic engagement, and Shinerama is a perfect fit”

“When I became involved in Shinerama in 1998, the campaign made $450,000 nationally. In 2004, just six years later, that total had more than doubled to $950,000. The hard

- work and innovation of the young

people of Canada have made that possible, and I think that illustrates something that I believe every post- secondary student should realize: college and university isn’t a “training ground” where you get ready to make an impact once you graduate. It is a place where an immense amount of talent and energy is put together.

“In fact, there may be no other time in your life where you are surrounded by so many people, with so many diverse skills, who will work for nothing except the satisfaction of “setting it done”. Our time here shouldn’t be wasted. Youth and friendship can’t be wasted.”

He says national fund-raisers like Shinerama can easily be tied into this way of thinking.

“Shinerama gives us the chance to achieve great things together, and more importantly, it makes us want to do it again. That’s why it matters so much to me, and that’s why I love to see campaigns like UPEI’s grow and prosper B it means more people are coming to realize how much they can matter.”

MacDermott agrees with Dudley.

“That’s why I love Shinerama so much, it’s all positive. I know that Drew is going to do a great job and I’m certain that within the next two years, we’ ll be seeing Shinerama surpass the big million dollar mark. As for what he said about UPEI’s campaign...well he’s pretty much right on the dot.”