Montreal Junto

Discussion Topics from the May 26, 2010 Meeting

Laws

Jack from www.sailbritain.org is sailing around the British Aisles for charity. Click on the image above for more information!

One of the questions addressed during last night’s meeting was whether there are any laws that should be changed / better-enforced. After a bit of a rusty start, the group discussed the following issues:

• Bicyclists that do not know they are subject to the rules of the road.
• Lifting the ban on gay blood donation.
• Smoking cigarettes under hospital windows – easy to fix by enforcement of the 9-metre no smoking rules in Quebec.

Impressive People

Chester recounted the story of a co-worker who is sailing around the British aisles to raise money for charity. He recommended sailbritain.org.

Pedalez is a fundraiser put on each year by the Montreal Children's Hospital. It runs for about a week every summer.

Travis noted that he knows someone very involved in the upcoming Montreal Children’s Hospital charity bicycle ride, whose website is available here. Chris recounted that the MCH “bike” was designed by McGill engineering students a few years back and that it is a marked improvement over the former versions used by the hospital while also being less expensive.

Junto Helping the Public

Travis proposed that there are several different ways that the Junto could be of service to the general public while maintaining its connection with educational goals. For instance, each meeting the Members could donate a small amount of money toward a scholarship fund. The money would be given to a Montreal university annually and provide a named scholarship to a student in need.

Chris suggested we think also about ways in which we can help the general public abroad, which led to the next discussion item.

Junto Helping its Members

Anum works with the CVAP, the Concordia Volunteer Abroad Programme – we’ve inserted an image from CVAP’s website below, it’s worth a visit to the site. She requested help with various ways in which the Junto could improve the visibility of the program for fundraising and student recruitment purposes. Several members provided contacts and advice on achieving her goals, which ultimately will assist in raising the profile of the valuable programme.

“The Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program (CVAP) is a registered non-profit organization based in the city of Montreal, Canada. CVAP’s purpose is to create avenues for students to provide volunteer services in targeted regions and projects in Gulu District, northern Uganda.  This purpose is achieved through project partnership.”

- From the CVAP website

We’ll be posting updates on this site for the upcoming meetings – stay tuned!

Pictured above, a CVAP volunteer mixes cement. Click on the image to visit their site!