SFU Beedie School of Business students raise $30k for Canadian Cancer Society

Students at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business this semester leveraged a project management class project to raise funds for cancer – and after narrowly failing to reach their ambitious $30,000 target, dipped into their own pockets to make up the shortfall.

The project, called the 25toLife project, tasked the students with running a series of diverse, innovative events to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS).

This year marks the third consecutive year Masri has run the project in the fall semester Bus 361 Project Management class, raising over $50,000 in total in 2013 and 2014. This year’s target was set at $30,000, the most challenging goal Masri has set to date.

Working as both one large group and within smaller teams, the students organized a total of nine events, including a sponsored climb up the 35 flights of stairs at Vancouver’s Harbour Center; a moustache-themed pub night; and a five kilometer obstacle course sponsored by Steve Nash Fitness.

A last minute Christmas-themed event, led by BBA student Rhythm Tang, helped bring the total contributions just shy of the target.

When calculating their final donation at the end of semester class presentations, the students were despondent in realizing that they had missed their target by just over $400.

Determined not to fail to hit their goal by such a small amount, the students reached into their pockets and began passing ten and twenty dollar bills to the front of the class – an unprompted gesture that ultimately enabled them to write a cheque to the CCS for $30,043.

“It was truly humbling to be a part of such a dedicated team of students intent on raising funds for cancer research to support individuals affected by the disease,” said Beedie School of Business undergraduate Jordan Binotto.

“The project pushed us all to the limits but was one of the coolest experience in my undergraduate career. Learning about project management in class and immediately implementing our knowledge for such a worthy cause was so fulfilling.”

Earlier this year Masri was awarded the Canadian Cancer Society’s Community Champion Award in recognition of his remarkable efforts in spearheading the 25toLife project.

“There is no better way to learn about project management than putting business education into action, and the 25toLife project is a perfect example of experiential learning benefiting a worthwhile organization,” said Masri.

“The Canadian Cancer Society has been very supportive of the students over the last three years, and they deserve a lot of credit for the success of the 25toLife project.”

For more information on the 25toLife project, visit twentyfivetolife.ca