World Partnership Walk Team Spotlight: Upper Canada College

Photos from UCC Donut Sale

Students from Upper Canada College have been long-time supporters of WPW. We recently caught up with the team captains, Aalameen and Aalishan, to learn more about their inspiring WPW journey!

1) What inspired you to get involved with WPW?

Eight years ago, our parents encouraged us to start a school team. They told us that everyone has the ability to make a difference, and that, in order to build what we like to call our ‘compassion muscles’, we must get actively involved. When we started the team, it was only the two of us and our younger sister (who attends Bishop Strachan School). Today, eight years later, there are over 20 students and 10 houses engaged with WPW-related activities on campus, and the walk has become a staple of the UCC community. Over the years, we have come to realize how strong we have made our ‘compassion muscles’ through participation, recruitment, engagement, and active involvement in the walk.

2) What do you enjoy about fundraising for WPW?

Every year, the UCC community steps forward to make a difference. We do this as Team UCC, with the main objective to maximize awareness about the cause and the Walk. There is no compromise on this objective, and raising funds always follows. Of course, we raise funds independently, approaching extended family, friends of family, friends of our parents, our parents’ contacts, and other individuals within the community to get sponsors to donate. Collectively, as a school, we raise funds by holding our annual donut sale and house competition. Last year, over 100 dozen donuts were sold in one day. That is over 1,200 donuts! This was possible due to the vital collaboration between team members that allowed us to engage students of different grades, all coming together for a common purpose. Another major contributor to high sales is a pre-order system which allows students, teachers, and staff to pre-order donuts in higher quantities by directly emailing us in advance. All pre-orders are picked up from an express pick-up line on the day of the event, which is an added incentive to order early.

3) What advice would you give to other school/youth teams?

Over the years, we have learned a lot from our experiences as ambassadors of the Walk. Our sales team has become quite adept at crowd control, managing lines, taking orders, and securing cash collection. We have also learned that in order for us to do this effectively while balancing our schoolwork and other extracurriculars, we must manage our time properly. We have strengthened our communication skills through presentations in assembly, as well as reaching out to students and teachers through verbal and written messages. Through working together to make the fundraiser successful, we believe that we have also strengthened our relationships as team members.

We feel that it is a responsibility for us as Canadians to help others who are in need. As a country, we are fortunate to have opportunities that allow us to contribute the gift of time, knowledge, and other resources. Poverty is a global issue, and who else is better equipped to tackle this problem than us Canadians, whose society and communities are richly diverse and pluralistically inclusive?