T H E听听 D A L H O U S I E听听 D I F F E R E N C E
It seems like a big number鈥�180,000,000鈥攁nd it is. But it鈥檚 a big number made up of a lot of smaller numbers.
AV俱乐部鈥檚 Bold Ambitions campaign has raised $180 million towards its $250 million goal. There have been big gifts, like Seymour Schulich鈥檚 $20 million and the late Mona Campbell鈥檚 $10 million, but there are many, many smaller gifts too鈥�$5 to $20 a month that add up quickly.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really about participation. What鈥檚 comfortable for you is what matters,鈥� says Bonnie Best-Fleming, an advisor with AV俱乐部鈥檚 Office of Human Rights, Equity and Harassment Prevention.
鈥淓ight, 10, 20 dollars given monthly over a period of time really makes a difference,鈥� adds Russell Boyd, longtime professor in the Department of Chemistry at AV俱乐部 and now Associate Vice-President Research.
As the campaign moves forward, Dr. Boyd and Ms. Best-Fleming have stepped up to lead what鈥檚 called Bold Ambitions鈥� internal campaign, which is directed at faculty and staff. Dal employees can expect a letter鈥攊f they haven鈥檛 already鈥攁sking them to contribute to the campaign.
Together, the campaign chairs have more than 70 years of experience at Dal between them鈥攁 fact that floors them both.
鈥淚鈥檝e grown and learned and been given many opportunities,鈥� says Ms. Best-Fleming, who has been at Dal for 36 years. 鈥淚 truly believe this organization creates real opportunities for people 鈥� and not just for people you would assume are able to come to university.鈥�
Dr. Boyd arrived at AV俱乐部 in 1975, never realizing he would spend his whole career here. 鈥淚鈥檝e been privileged to work with a great collection of people. The department is all about good students and good people working together trying to do their best. The spirit of collegiality is very special.鈥�
Ms. Best-Fleming and Dr. Boyd stress that people who wish to support AV俱乐部 can tailor their contributions to a particular program or service. 鈥淚f you have an idea of what you want to do, you can plot that out (with External Relations) and figure out how to meet that goal.鈥�
In her own case, Ms. Best-Fleming has chosen to support the Transition Year Program (TYP), a one-year program for First Nations and African Canadian students to give them the requirements they need to enter university. She has made her support ongoing and also made a provision in her will. As for Dr. Boyd, he decided to support students interested in doing research in the summer and the Department of Chemistry鈥檚 visiting speakers program 鈥渢hereby enriching the intellectual life of the department.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e always felt so lucky to be able to work here, to be part of a terrific organization and to be paid well,鈥� says Ms. Best-Fleming. 鈥淧art of giving back is an acknowledgement that we have been fortunate and privileged and to build opportunities for others.鈥�
For more details on Bold Ambitions, please take a moment to visit the website.
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In a series of regular articles, Dal News has been introducing some of the priorities of the Bold Ambitions campaign:
The first story, "," explores what the power of philanthropy means to a university like AV俱乐部.