MBA students gave back to the local community in a big way during the Ivey Social Impact Day on August 11. The day-long event saw small groups of students take to the streets of London and surrounding area for some hands-on volunteering. There was even an opportunity for those who were out of town or uncomfortable with group settings to help with a fun Zoom event for children.
Ivey Social Impact Day activities
The students had a chance to lend a helping hand at seven not-for-profit organizations:
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of London and Area – Hosting a fun day over Zoom for the kids;
- Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup – Picking up garbage in public parks around London;
- Humane Society London & Middlesex – Painting and yard work;
- London Food Bank – Sorting food and making hampers for donation;
- ReForest London – Weeding around trees;
- Urban Roots – Weeding and harvesting vegetables; and,
- YU Ranch – Weeding out invasive vegetation.
Learning outside the classroom
Part of Ivey’s mission is to develop leaders who give back to the communities in which they operate, and the Ivey Social Impact Day showed students what that really means.
Here are some key takeaways from the MBA students:
“Ivey Social Impact Day gives us an opportunity to experience the impact of not-for-profit organizations, which doesn’t always get much attention in many business schools. It also gives us a chance to take a step back and truly take in something that we’ve been learning in our lessons on Sustainability. It is that our decisions as business leaders, no matter how big or small, will affect our communities and the people within them.”
— Winnie Dang
“I loved the chance to get out and make a difference in our community. It was great to see our Ivey classmates being so enthusiastic about participating and eager to give back. This is a very important day and tradition at Ivey, as we have a responsibility as students and future leaders to give back to our community. It’s vital that we take every opportunity we get to contribute, and it was amazing to see the community pull together to make a difference even during the pandemic.”
— Parth Bhowmick
“It was a great opportunity to learn the impact and programs of Big Brothers Big Sisters of London and Area. We had Ivey students share their stories with Big Brothers Big Sisters about the challenges and changes they faced growing up. It was fun playing trivia games and hearing inspiring stories.”
— Cheryl Wu
“What I liked about Social Impact Day was how it showed that small actions done collectively can have a big impact. It ties nicely with our lessons in classes that, sometimes, incremental changes in culture or operating processes can still create an impact.”
— Edzel Tabing
Ivey Social Impact Day
A fresh coat of paint (Photo provided by Humane Society London & Middlesex)
Helping at ReForest London
A visit from a furry friend
