Strength to reach lofty goals

Giving Day, Nov. 29, will provide funds for mental health, wellness and student awards and bursaries

In 2021, Mount Royal University held its inaugural Giving Day, a 24-hour campaign focusing efforts on raising critical funds for current and future students, providing support in and out of the classroom.

This year’s Giving Day will take place on Nov. 29, and will offer several fun challenges in which to take part.

“Giving Day is when we shine a light on philanthropy within our own community and how any gift — large or small — can make a difference,” says MRU president and vice-chancellor Tim Rahilly, PhD. “Last year, 671 donors raised $262,646.86, of which $107,000 went towards student awards. Those are funds that provide immediate relief to students.”

Sixty years of graduates gave on Giving Day 2021, representing every decade from the 1950s to the 2020s. Cougar Athletics, the MRU Conservatory and everything in between received support from generous donors.

The impact of a gift

Sterling Kerr
Recipient of the Calgary Juventus Sports Club Award

 

Sterling Kerr credits receiving the Calgary Juventus Sports Club Award with making him a better student and stronger athlete.

Kerr is well known on the Mount Royal pitch as the goalkeeper for the Cougars men’s soccer team, which won a Canada West bronze medal this season, and balances the demands of being a student-athlete with his studies as a psychology major. Because of his award, Kerr was able to spend the summer focusing on the upcoming soccer season instead of working and believes it has been a huge part of his academic success as well.

“Playing soccer and being able to get an education at the same time is never something I really dreamed of before coming to MRU and it has really elevated both my soccer and my ability in the classroom,” he says.

Kerr considers MRU home due to its smaller class sizes and tight-knit community, which will be coming together for students on Nov. 29.

For Giving Day 2022, students have identified mental health and wellness and student awards and bursaries as their priority areas of need. A major goal for this year is to grow MRU’s scholarship endowment to $50 million from its current status of $47.5 million. In addition, as part of MRU’s drive to meet the growing and evolving needs of students and to align with the post-secondary sector on scholarship supports, donors and alumni have contributed more than  $5,000 to go towards work being done by MRU as guided by the Suicide Prevention Strategic Framework.

There are a million reasons to give. What’s yours?