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Little Big PitcH

Humanitarian Fundraising

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Lil’ Big PitcH

Fundraising for Humanitarian Aid

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An important part of the Global Perspectives Program is learning about issues around the world and finding ways to help out. A large takeaway we learned from this program is that we should not only acknowledge these issues but also gather information and use our knowledge to make a difference around the globe, as well as in our own community. Each year the Global Perspectives Program brings down humanitarian aid to Cuba for the citizens that are not as privileged and do not have the same opportunities that we do. Although we were unable to do so this year, the 28 of us still got to experience the beginning stages of what would’ve been a great collective project. Similar to last year, El Pequeño Gran Lanzamiento, or the Lil’ Big Pitch, was integrated into the curriculum, only this year it was on a slightly smaller scale. We split into four groups and each was given a specific area of focus; education, health, sporting equipment, and fundraising. Each group was responsible for reaching out to schools and businesses in the community to help us on our journey as well as any personal connections that any of us might have. Although this project had to be postponed, for now, we are all still hoping to pass down our knowledge to future globalites and help with the process as much as possible. Here is what each group had to say about their experience with taking part in the ‘Lil’ Big Pitch.

HEALTHCARE

Hanna, Sarah, Amy, Jacob, Ffion and Evan

The health group in the Lil’ Big Pitch had a fairly successful run considering the circumstances. The group leaders were Hanna and Sarah, however, everybody in the group did more than their fair share of the work. Some people ordered supplies online, some visited various locations to collect supplies due to the luxury of a few group members having their G2 licenses, some writing letters and call scripts and everyone in the group called different sources from a list we made with the contact information of the medical practices used by every student in the class. We gathered a fair amount of supplies and have more that will be brought in in the fall. If we had the opportunity to do this again we would move more quickly through the process. We put a lot of time into being organized in the beginning, but we could have jumped into the collection process a bit sooner. This was an assignment that each of us was honoured to have a role in and we all learned a lot from this experience. 

SPORTS

Abby, Anushka, Tynan, Kieran and Dustin

Even though our fundraising efforts were stopped by COVID-19, the sports group for the ‘Lil’ Big Pitch still was able to gather supplies for the children in Cuba. We were successful in our fundraising because we all worked well together and everyone pulled their own weight. We set up multiple drop boxes at the Allendale Recreation Centre as well as one at a Barrie Minor Baseball Training Facility. We were able to make contact with many other smaller softball organizations and we also had a paragraph written about our mission in the Springwater News! We spoke to many different gym classes at Innisdale Secondary School and also some major sport retail companies such as Canadian Tire and Sport Chek. Even within our own group, we were able to gather many supplies to help the cause. It is certain that if we were not interrupted we would have been able to gather lots more equipment, but under the circumstances, we did pretty good with what we had and learned a lot from this assignment.

EDUCATION

Alex B, Alex S, Allison, Dariya, Grace, Kate H, Kate N and Olivia

Our responsibility was to collect various school supplies for both elementary and high schools in Cuba and deliver them on our trip in April. Although there were multiple complications in our process, the education group still had a fairly good run. We reached out to the feeder schools of Innisdale and some businesses in the Barrie area, such as Scholar’s Choice, to help us on our journey. There were many strengths within the eight of us so we made sure to keep those in mind when dividing up the work that needed to be done. Some of us got to talk with schools and stores in the communities, some wrote emails and responded to calls, and some got to design posters and cards to put up. Before the schools and businesses shut down, we gathered a moderate amount of supplies that can be brought to Cuba in future years of Global. This semester was filled with interruptions, but we got to learn vital lessons throughout the whole process. Through this experience, we learned the importance of being able to adapt to certain situations, communication is key, and that teamwork leads to success. Although the circumstances of this semester had affected the process of the “Lil” Big Pitch project, we will make sure that the supplies that were collected make their way to the schools in Cuba and are hoping to pass down our knowledge to future Global years.

FUNDRAISING

Claire, Kendra, Sophie, Taelyn, Quiana, Megan and Aiden

Even though COVID-19 made it difficult for our group to finish our fundraising goals, our group was quite successful considering the circumstances. We began with separating the wards of Barrie and networked our pre-existing connections to local businesses. We contacted these businesses through email, phone or simply walking into the facility. We created a social media page that documented our class’s progress. Each one of us was able to contact personal connections and ask them for monetary donations. For example, Sophie was able to ask for donations within her church. We also had plans for day fundraisers like Beavertails or a soccer tournament but quarantine limited these events.

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