Photo by John Matisz/London Community News
Purple-obsessed engineering students volunteering their time for Shinerama pose outside of their site, Cherryhill Mall.
By John Matisz
Covered in Mustang purple, chanting with enthusiasm and craving the shade, students dedicated their Saturday (Sept. 10) to a time-honoured tradition.
No, they weren’t piled into TD Waterhouse Stadium for an early September University of Western Ontario (UWO) football game. They were raising money for Cystic Fibrosis through a nationwide program named Shinerama.
Since the 1960s, post-secondary students across Canada have raised funds for Cystic Fibrosis through shoe-shining, car washing and cold-calling. Last year marked the first time Shinerama reached the yearly $1 million plateau.
Throughout London Saturday morning and afternoon, UWO students were scattered across the city.
At one particular site, Kathleen Edwards — a fifth-year engineering student — led an all-engineering crew. At Cherryhill Mall, with her hair died purple and overalls covered in marker, Edwards said it was too early to tell how much her site had raised as well as the grand total from UWO.
Last Thursday (Sept. 8), UWO engineering students raised $8,000 for another charity, Edwards said.
“We’ve done really well this year with our charity work,” she added.
Check your facts! UWO has been proud to raise over $2 million dollars since 1968 for the Shinerama Campaign. More than any other university involved.