The Nipissing University Sports Marketing class has raised $9,000 for mental health support in the North Bay area.
The annual event took place November 22 at Memorial Gardens as the women’s and men’s Lakers hockey teams took on Ontario Tech and Carlton respectively. The game was called “Lakers Break the Ice on Mental Health.”
Put on by Nipissing Business students, the University says it gives students the opportunity to take their learning beyond textbooks and classrooms by taking control of the event from planning to execution.
“I’m very proud of these students and I appreciate the above-and-beyond effort and devotion that they commit to the Break the Ice event,” said Dr. Denyse Lafrance Horning, instructor of the Sports Marketing class. “It is a massive undertaking that normally pushes students far beyond traditional course expectations and comfort zones but also delivers much more than just a grade. Ideally, these lessons will stay with them for many years to come.”
The school adds that this year’s total surpassed previous year’s results, and drew approximately 1,000 fans to Memorial Gardens for the games.
A new addition to this year’s event was the Business Leadership class from École Secondaire Catholique Algonquin. The students produced and sold products that contributed over $1,000 toward the event’s fundraising goal.
Lisa Daub, the teacher of the Business Leadership class said: “it was a very valuable experience and an event that we hope to be able to participate in again next year.”
“Extending these learning opportunities to the Algonquin business students was a phenomenal success and we hope to build on this with other local high schools for next year’s event,” added Lafrance Horning.
The $9,000 raised will go towards assisting the Community Counselling Centre of Nipissing and NU Listens in delivering mental health support programs within the community.
