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MBA students give back to the community for Social Impact Day

Aug 15, 2024

Ivey’s MBA students got a deeper sense of the community's needs and how they themselves can make a difference – both now and as future leaders – while volunteering with various London-area non-profit organizations for their annual Social Impact Day.

Divided into groups, 155 students, along with some of their plus-ones, participated in a variety of activities with six local organizations:

519Pursuit – Delivering meals and clothing to the homeless;
Habitat for Humanity – Painting and cleaning to refresh one of the ReStores;
LIFE*SPIN – Filling backpacks with school supplies that will be distributed to children for the coming school year and initial digging for the creation of a playground;
ReForest London – Aftercare for previously planted trees, such as weeding and garbage collection;
SARI Therapeutic Riding – Cleaning horse paddocks and fences; and,
Urban Roots London – Weeding, harvesting, and gardening tasks.

Inspiring leaders who make a difference

It was all part of a student-organized event that emphasizes the important role that individuals and corporations play in caring for society, which fits with the School’s purpose: Inspiring leaders for a sustainable and prosperous world.

“Impact Day is more than just an annual tradition, it’s a powerful demonstration of the values we hold at Ivey,” said Bani Sehgal, an MBA student and one of the event organizers. “Let’s give our best, knowing that all of our efforts and our acts of kindness can make a lot of impact on the community around us.”

Prior to heading out for the activities, the students heard from some of the Impact Day Senators, including Sehgal, about the organizations’ missions and how their help can make a difference. Citing that roughly 1.6 million people in Canada lack access to decent affordable housing, Sehgal told how Habitat for Humanity’s ReStores address this need by selling gently used items to raise money for building houses for families in need.

Small actions, big impact

Associate Professor Darren Meister, Ivey’s Associate Dean of Programs, also addressed the students at the event kick-off, discussing initiatives from other high-profile volunteers. These included Del Seymour, a drug user-turned-community leader whose non-profit is helping San Francisco’s homeless to find employment, and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who has helped to build more than 4,000 Habitat for Humanity houses, even while battling brain cancer.

“Those are big influences and we don’t often get to make such big influences in life, but we can make them in smaller ways,” he said. “You get to do things today that help to break cycles and that’s the important part.”

Character and teamwork on display

MBA student Nicholas Manoukas volunteered at the ReForest site and said he appreciated the chance to give back to London, which has been a second home to him since he moved there from Toronto for Ivey’s program.

“Ivey students are chosen because of their character, and Social Impact Day gives us an opportunity to show that character,” he said.

Fellow MBA student Jessica Confalone said she enjoyed spending a day outside of the classroom and was particularly glad to work with SARI because she is passionate about helping people living with disabilities. SARI offers therapeutic horseback riding programs to those with special needs.

“It’s good to step out of the classroom and get your hands dirty instead of just working with your head every day. This gives us the opportunity to understand how important it is to work with the local community and anyone in a special-needs scenario. It’s really gratifying,” she said.

And Nuria Teodorescu, an MBA student who also volunteered at SARI, said she was proud to have the MBA cohort’s teamwork on display.

“Ivey does a wonderful job of emphasizing the importance of working in teams in different settings. In this setting, we can take what we’ve learned to benefit society and our community as a whole,” she said.

The importance of volunteers

The local organizations appreciated the students’ efforts, especially given they often rely heavily on volunteers to operate their programs.

“We don’t have the means to go back and care for all of the trees that we plant, so having a large group of volunteers like this is essential for our success,” said Devon Way, Environmental Program Assistant with ReForest London. “There can be a bit of disconnect between the projects we do and the community that appreciates them, so it’s awesome to have this reciprocal effect.”

Melanie Starke, Vice President External for the Ivey MBA Association, was the lead organizer for the 2024 Social Impact Day and said she heard positive feedback from the organizations about the strong show of attendance and the students’ commitment.

“This made me very proud of our cohort. For me, the best thing was seeing students step out of their comfort zone and helping the community, but also getting joy out of it for themselves. It was a special day,” she said.

Watch the video above.

More photos from Social Impact Day