Today@Dal

Pictured (left to right): Pat MacDonald, Jennifer Brown, Tom Boran, Audra Hayden, Tammy Broussard, Shirlene Dancause. (Bruce Bottomley photo)

The prize for winning the Dalhousie United Way Halifax Campaign’s Dean’s Challenge is an 18-kg ceramic turtle. And the Faculty of Dentistry appears to be the turtle’s natural habitat.

For the third straight year and fourth time in the five-year history of the competition, the Faculty of Dentistry has won the Dean’s Challenge, and with it the coveted turtle. The Dentistry group, headed up by Dean Tom Boran, achieved a 24 per cent participation rate for the campaign.

“We call ourselves a family, and I think this just shows one of the talents that this family has,” says Dr. Boran. “The Faculty has always come together in supporting those less fortunate, those populations that have needs.

“The United Way can do so much for so many people, and I think that all the faculty and staff and students are very supportive of that.”

A team effort

Dr. Boran credits the faculty members on his United Way organizing committee for creating both an effective fundraising strategy and an overall sense of enthusiasm.

“(The organizing committee) cover all the various units in the faculty and get everyone excited,” he says. “They put on activities that people can see themselves being a part of.

“We’ll have 50-50 raffles, we’ll have a Dean’s Cook-off, we’ll have bake sales. The committee will have a number of these events spaced out over the campaign so people aren’t hit all at once.”

Name that turtle

Given that his group has dominated the Dean’s Challenge for five years – with the exception of Dalhousie Libraries’ win in 2009 – Dr. Boran figures the Faculty of Dentistry has earned naming rights for the turtle, which has gone without a moniker to this point.

“I think we’ll stick our neck out – pardon the pun – and go for it,” says Dr. Boran, who plans to let the whole Faculty of Dentistry weigh in with ideas.

“I’ll make it into a bit of a contest so we’ll see what we can come up with.”

Still time to make a difference

Donations can still be made to the Dalhousie United Way campaign. Visit its website to find a donation method that works best for you.

The Dalhousie United Way committee would like to thank all of the volunteers and participants involved in this year’s campaign. Also, an especially big thank you to Jascinth Butterfield and Jim Fanning in Financial Services, for their tireless efforts overseeing Dalhousie’s donations.