Algonquin College Alumni Doing Great Things

Posted on Sunday, April 10th, 2016

It has been a week to celebrate our alumni at Algonquin College’s Waterfront Campus. Not a formal celebration, but rather a time to reflect on the great things that our graduates are doing here at home.

It seems everywhere I turned this past week I was learning about a special project or initiative that one of our alumni was involved in. It started with a chance meeting with Police Foundations graduate, Dallas McLeod, who was on campus for a Program Advisory committee meeting.

McLeod graduated in 2013 and is now a full-time member of the Renfrew OPP detachment. While he was a student, he accumulated an incredible 3000+ hours of volunteer work. Through his participation on an Advisory Committee, he is continuing his commitment to volunteerism by providing feedback to the College on the program he graduated from.

A few days later I had a call from Social Service Worker graduate Sam Graham, class of 2015. Graham, who is now working on earning a Degree in Social Work at Carleton University, was planning a wheelchair basketball fundraiser at the Waterfront Campus for the fourth year in a row.

Graham has raised money for several causes including the Algonquin College food bank and the Pembroke Regional Hospital MRI Fund. This year, he was helping to generate funds for a recreational facility in Ottawa for people with disabilities.

2001 Business graduate and Canadian Recording artist, Jason Blaine, established his own charitable fund a few years ago. For the past two years, he has held a two-day fundraising event that features a concert and a golf tournament, raising more than $125,000 for community causes in his hometown.

This week he announced he will be joined by two of Canada’s top Country performers, Dallas Smith and Jason McCoy at this year’s charity concert on June 14th. It will be another sold-out event with this year’s beneficiaries including Algonquin College, the Pembroke and Area Boys and Girls Club and local food banks. Blaine is also again committing $5,000 to help Renfrew County not for profit groups access Mental Health First Aid training.

These are only a few examples of what you can learn in a short time about the great things our Algonquin College alumni are doing. They really are terrific people and their commitment to helping others is extraordinary and worth celebrating.

Posted by Jamie Bramburger, Manager of Community & Student Affairs

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