Behind the scenes with Beyond Borders students as they plan ‘Ambition’ charity gala
December 8, 2017
GUELPH, Ontario – A semester of preparation and just weeks to pull off a major event from start to finish, a group of youth in Guelph are turning their ambition into a large-scale charity gala that will take place next month.
Students enrolled in the Upper Grand District School Board’s Beyond Borders program are in the midst of planning “Ambition,” a charity gala that will feature inspiring performances, great food and a strong sense of community.
Beyond Borders is one of the UGDSB’s Experiential Learning Programs. It explores integrated and experiential educational opportunities, with a focus on business and leadership. The program is run out of the Guelph Youth Music Centre (GYMC). After completing a rigorous application process, 50 Grade 12 students take the program in the fall semester, earning credits in business, math and advanced leadership. Students develop skills outside of the classroom, going on field trips and exploring business practices.
This year’s group of students is taking the success of past cohorts and using it as motivation to raise the bar even further. They are currently in the midst of a five-week sprint, where they must plan, organize and execute every aspect of the charity event, drawing on the lessons they’ve learned in smaller projects throughout the semester. The culminating project, Ambition, will bring together all of the skills they’ve acquired over the past few months.
A quick look around the GYMC this week, and one thing is clear – there’s a lot to do in a short span of time, but every student in the program is working diligently to make sure the event is a success.
In order to plan all aspects of the charity event, students broke off into departments, including sales and finance, marketing and human resources.
To determine which department each person was placed in, students went through a day-long interview process, where Beyond Borders alumni and experts conducted interviewers to ensure each role was filled by someone with aligning interests and skills. Every department then had experts come in and conduct training in their area, for instance the managerial team did training with Eagles Flight, while the operations team visited the River Run Centre to receive lighting and sound training from the in-house tech crew.
Each team has critical tasks they need to execute as they all work toward the same goal.
The creative projects team is making promotional videos for the event and videos about Beyond Borders that will play at Ambition. The marketing team has created an event website and brochure for potential corporate sponsors. They also make sure the event has a presence on social media.
On the sales team, half the group is focused on corporate business, setting up meetings and making pitches with larger organizations with the hopes of securing corporate sponsors. Another sales team meets with smaller local businesses, who may be interested in donating to the event’s silent auction.
With just a few weeks to go, the finance team’s work begins to ramp up, as they collect money from ticket sales, budget for the venue, entertainment, food and more. HR plays the interesting role of mediating and motivating, working with each team to resolve any conflicts, create a code of conduct and facilitate performance appraisals.
As the operations foyer team works away on the flow, set up and design of the venue, the entertainment team is booking and scheduling the performers, a mix of amazing musicians, dancers and artists, as well as people speaking about their personal connection to the causes being supported through the gala. A new role added this year came directly from one of the students, who wanted to ensure every decision made was an environmentally conscious one.
Ambition will raise funds for three causes: Mount Sinai Hospital’s fetal unit for Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), Sick Kids Hospital, and support for Syrian newcomer families who have settled in our communities.
The gala takes place on Saturday Jan. 13, 2018, beginning at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets to Ambition, please visit the River Run Centre’s website at http://riverrun.ca/whats-on/ambition/.
For more information on the UGDSB’s Experiential Learning Programs, like Beyond Borders, visit https://www.ugdsb.ca/programs/experiential-learning/.
Categories: News Tags: Experiential Learning