The stage at the Blind Duck Pub got messy when students volunteered to get pied in the face for the Undergraduate Commerce Society’s annual Fair for Hope event, which raised $3,000 in total.
UCS brought in crowds of people on Thursday afternoon to watch their friends get pied in the face for cancer awareness and research.
Sabiha Sultana, the corporate social responsibility director of UCS, gathered a committee to plan the event, which was a collective effort on the part of many of UTM’s clubs and societies. Sunil Shah, a UTM alumnus, returned to UTM to emcee the event.
Students volunteered to sit on wooden chairs on the main stage of the Blind Duck with plastic draped over them to protect themselves from the onslaught of whipped cream and icing. People gave the change in their pockets to the cause; whenever the proposed target for the victims was met, the donors got together onstage behind the wooden chairs and pied the volunteers in the face.
“Fair for Hope creates a great environment where people are working hard together, providing an opportunity for others to give while also making connections,” said Deepa Agarwa, a UCS communications associate.
The event brought together people from different clubs and societies at UTM to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. The Sexual Education Centre and CFRE Radio promoted it, the CCIT Council sent photographer Ayman Khan to take photos, and the Pakistani Youth Alliance sold multicultural food; they and their biryanis raised the most money at the fair. The Erindale Biology Society donated raffle prizes, including movie passes, gift cards for Winners and Square One, and an iPad that had been donated by sponsors. The Erindale Gaming Association held a video game competition, and DECA hosted a “Minute to Win It” game.
The Math and Computational Sciences Society sent an executive, Eric Scott, to get pied in the face. The Indian Students’ Association did the same. UTMAC also sent two executives to get pied. Andjela Ocicek, one of the executives, volunteered to have her hair cut onstage. The Tennis Players’ Association sent four executives to get pied, including their president, Leonardo Ortega.
All the UTMSU executives got pied onstage at the same time.
“It is always nice to take a break from our busy routines and make an effort towards giving back to the society,” said Suhavi Makkar, DECA’s director of events. “This is the very purpose of Fair for Hope, and everyone works very hard to make this happen. We have fun and raise money for a great cause, making it a win-win situation.”
All the proceeds from the event went to the Canadian Cancer Society.
