thundercats promote community spirit and student leadership

by kathy hunt, communications officer at lakehead's orillia campus

i rode the heart and stroke foundation's big bike last week! the foundation
calls this their most fun-raising fundraising event, during which teams of up to
29 riders pedal through the community in support of heart disease and stroke
research.

i was part of the lakehead - orillia team, led by the thundercats, a group of
very energetic and community-minded 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 . our team raised $1,180,
contributing to the orillia big bike grand total of $62,000.

the big bike is just one of the community events that the lakehead
thundercats (community action team) are involved in as community
volunteers and leaders. the group came about as a result of interest from
community organizations and lakehead 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 . when the campus first opened
in 2006, student affairs coordinator kelli gray often received calls from
community organizations looking for student volunteers. she began to work with
concurrent education student, rodger whitman, to develop a means for
世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 to respond to some of these requests. whitman was interested in
forming the kind of community opportunities for 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 like those he saw in
guelph, where his wife and fellow thundercat member, ariana, had studied.

"the university of guelph offered so many different ways for 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 to get
involved, no matter what their interest, so i thought we could start some similar
activities here at the new lakehead campus," explains whitman. before long,
whitman met shannon green and katelyn fraser, two of lakehead - orillia's
student ambassadors. under the leadership of this dynamic student group, the
thundercats became an official club of the 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 student union
(lusu). as president and vice-president respectively, green and fraser
spearheaded a number of successful community initiatives under the
thundercats banner.

"we realized we needed to get organized, develop a group of committed student
members, and focus on a few major events per year," says whitman. with the
help of green and fraser, the rejuvenated group developed a vision (see
sidebar) and embarked on a plan of community action.

of the many projects led by the thundercats during the past year, green is
most proud of the walk for memories event, which was initiated in cooperation
with the alzheimer society of north east simcoe county. "it was an amazing
event," said green. "we raised over $6,000, surpassing all our expectations. we
were thrilled with the outcome, and now the organization has a model for running
the event in future years."

during the 2008-2009 school year, the thundercats also organized a "trick- or-
eat" event that collected over 700 food items for orillia's sharing place food
bank; participated in a "30-hour famine," which donated $2,600 to haiti relief
efforts and contributed $500 to other international-aid projects; and contributed
over $1,500 to the united way campaign through regular on-campus bake sales.

both green and fraser say their thundercats involvement has enhanced their
experience at lakehead - orillia. "the community spirit that has developed
through the club is something that will have long-lasting benefits," says green.
fraser adds that the club's community projects have helped bring 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛
together. "we've also been able to get to know the community, and i know this
sort of insight will help me in my future career," adds fraser.

both green and fraser are members - with first class standing - of this year's
graduating class, and will be attending convocation on june 5 in orillia. both
世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 can be proud of their academic accomplishments, as well as their
contribution to student life at the lakehead - orillia campus.

"as one of the first formally-organized campus groups, the thundercats provide
an opportunity for 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 to get involved and expand their horizons beyond the
classroom," notes kelli gray. "through the leaderships efforts of the trio,
whitman, green, and fraser have also helped create a campus community that
fosters civic engagement and pride," she adds. "they helped start something that
will inspire future 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 at the campus and continue to have positive effects on
the local community and beyond."

the thundercats have recently elected a new executive, with whitman as vicepresident,
and second-year student, jazmin beddard, as president. however,
just because this school year has wrapped up doesn't mean the thundercats
will be taking a break. they have entered a team in the upcoming cancer relay
for life on june 18 and will also be volunteering at this year's 50th anniversary of
the mariposa folk festival, july 9 to 11, as part of lakehead - orillia's
sponsorship of the event.