SACKVILLE, N.B. – Mount Allison Global Brigades is holding a gala dinner in Halifax on Friday to help raise the necessary funds to support its annual capacity-building trip to Honduras.
The Stewart McKelvey Global Brigades Gala takes place at Pier 21, with a reception at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m.
“This trip is a true community effort,” said Carolle de Ste-Croix, Mount Allison’s director of alumni relations. “Each year we receive thousands of dollars worth of donated medical supplies and medication to deliver to the people of Honduras. This gala, our major fundraiser, helps provide funds to transport those supplies as well as to buy other necessary supplies and medication that we have not been able to secure through donations.”
Global Brigades is the largest student-led global health and sustainable development organization in the world. The Mount Allison Brigade was the first to be formed in Atlantic Canada and only the second in the country.
In February, Mount Allison Global Brigades will send more than 100 people, including students and medical professionals, to Honduras for a week over spring break to provide medical and dental care, access to clean water and latrines, and other community improvement projects. This is the brigade’s fifth trip to Honduras, one of Central America’s poorest countries.
“Global Brigades employs a holistic model to meet a community’s development goals,” said fourth-year student Paras Satija, president of Mount Allison Global Brigades. “The projects are structured so they address very specific and basic needs. But Global Brigades doesn’t only impact the residents of partner communities. It provides first-hand experience in the practice of global development for thousands of university students every year. Students empowering communities, communities empowering students — it’s a win-win.”
Mount Allison chancellor and CBC News Chief Correspondent Peter Mansbridge is the keynote speaker at the gala. Mount Allison Global Brigades is hoping to raise $15,000 through the event.
Tickets are $175 and can be purchased online at www.mta.ca/globalbrigades or by calling Mona Estabrooks at 1-866-890-6318. A charitable receipt of $100 will be issued for each ticket sold.
For more information about Global Brigades, please visit www.mta.ca/clubs/gb
