A fundraising snowball

"I wanted to show appreciation for what I have by raising money for people who have nothing," says Ella Dubinsky. (Bruce Bottomley Photo)

Ella Dubinsky’s fundraising fever started with a Kleenex box.

She set it up on a table near the dining room in Risley Hall, hoping to collect a few dollars for the people of Haiti. Heavy with loonies and twoonies, each dollar actually weighs four times as much: Ella’s mother has promised to match every dollar dropped into the box, and that total will be matched again by the Canadian government.

So far, she’s collected more than $1,700, but admits she hasn’t had time to stop and count it all since Monday.

“It’s been a whirlwind, but I felt the most important thing was to get money together quickly,” said Ms. Dubinsky, a first-year science student. “The people in Haiti need help so desperately.”

Her fundraising efforts were sparked by a phone call home last Thursday. Upset by the images of destruction caused by the magnitude-7.0 earthquake, she confessed her feelings of helplessness to her mother, a doctor in Sydney, Cape Breton.

“It really hit me,” she explains. “Sure, we love to complain, but living in residence, we’re so used to being comfortable and being taken care of. It’s like we’re in our own little world. So to see those people in Haiti, who didn’t even have a blanket, much less a roof over their heads, was so upsetting.”

After listening to her daughter, Elizabeth MacCormick then issued her a challenge.

“My mom said, ‘So, why don’t you do something about it?’ and offered to match anything I raised,” explains Ms. Dubinsky. “I must say I was hesitant, because I didn’t have any idea of the support I would get. After all, student budgets are kind of limiting.”

Still feeling unsure, she asked for permission to set up a table in Risley and sat there with her Kleenex box—now a real till—for most of Saturday. Later, on Saturday night, she stationed herself outside the Grawood, where some fun auction items at the Risley Gala added to her efforts. Risley council has contributed too, chipping in $500.

She credits her mother for giving her the push she needed. “She’s definitely my role model. Her line is ‘to give until it hurts,’ which sounds a little extreme but I appreciate the sentiment.”

Ms. Dubinsky will continue to accept donations in the next few days—“please drop by Risley if you feel like donating.”