What do you write in a greeting card to someone you don’t know?
Maddy Burkett’s approach was all about bringing a sense of beauty and optimism to the recipient.
“I drew some flowers, and kind of said, ‘These are my flowers that I've gotten to see and now they're flowers that you get to see.’ They can't respond, but ‘How's your day?’ and ‘I hope it's great!’ and ‘life is beautiful!’ and just little things that they can remember in times of need, or, you know, feeling down.”
Maddy, a fourth-year student in the Health and Human Performance program at Dal, was one of about 80 Dal students participating in the inaugural Dal Gives Back event on Sept. 8. Crafting thoughtful cards for seniors in long-term care was one of the activities participants took part in. They also assembled hygiene kits for those in need.
The Dal Gives Back initiative was designed to address community needs identified over the past few years, said Kareina Cadel, Dal’s manager of student experience.
“This event gave students an opportunity to give back to their community and form a community themselves,” she said.
Maddy emphasized the importance of giving back to the community, especially considering Halifax’s rising rent and eviction rates.
“It's visible even on campus, the effect that homelessness has, and so I think . . . we should take every opportunity that we can to give back.”
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Peter Ordinelli, donor and community engagement officer with United Way Halifax (a partners on the project), said the event allowed students to form a connection with people in the Halifax community who need support.
“The kits they’re making are going to Freedom House and Out of the Cold Halifax and Dartmouth,” Ordinelli said. “The student assembled kits will be kept on-site for people that might need to have a shower and don’t have the supplies to do so.”
Lucas Melanson, a second-year engineering student at Dal, wanted to be part of the event to do something good for the homeless.
“I put together some hygiene kits, mostly hygienic stuff like deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes, along with some socks for cold weather, and some tissue paper because people always get colds,” he said.
But for Lucas, Dal Gives Back also prompted some bigger thinking — about how his own field of engineering and design can make things more inclusive in the future and help more homeless people out.
The student turnout for Dal Gives Back ultimately surpassed expectations. Cadel credits this to a collaboration across many faculties. Lucas and Maddy, for instance, both heard about the event through email and through their program’s newsletter.
After seeing so many students get together to help, Cadel emphasized the desire to continue this event forward, hoping to have another one at the beginning of the winter ‘25 semester.
“Many students were able to connect with each other, and kind of think of themselves as part of the broader Halifax community,” she says. “It shows that students are keen to find their place in Halifax — not just at Dalhousie — and be part of giving back in whatever way that they can.”