Shinerama is Canada’s largest post-secondary fundraiser involving students at almost 60 university and college campuses across Canada, aimed at raising money for
cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...
research.
Shinerama was developed in 1961 at
Waterloo Lutheran University
Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...
(now
Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...
) by Paul Enns as a way for first-year students to get involved and give back to their community. Enns partnered with the Esquire Shoe Polish Company and generated funds were initially donated to the Sunbeam Home for Retarded Children in Kitchener. It was not until 1964, when the national Shinerama campaign for the
Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Cystic Fibrosis Canada is a national charitable not-for-profit corporation established in 1960.
Cystic Fibrosis Canada's mandate is to help individuals with cystic fibrosis, principally by funding cystic fibrosis research and care. The organizat ...
was launched, that funds were directed to support Cystic Fibrosis research.
The success of Shinerama allowed this charitable event to grow from a small municipal shoe-shining event to becoming one of Canada's largest fundraising efforts. Shinerama currently boasts 55 universities participating in the event countrywide in this annual affair and continues to work with the
CCFF.
In 2006, Shinerama attracted more than 35,000 student volunteers in more than 56 Canadian cities, towns, and communities. Together, students from coast to coast shine shoes, wash cars, co-ordinate raffles and
barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
s, as well as numerous other events, in support of cystic fibrosis research and care.
Shinerama has raised more than $17.5 million to support the fight against cystic fibrosis since the campaign began. In 2007, Shinerama student volunteers raised more than $985,638, a record breaking year, to help fund
CCFF research and treatment programs. In 2010, Shinerama student volunteers raised $1,000,000 during their campaigns.
Controversy
In 2008, the
Carleton University Students' Association
The Carleton University Students' Association (or CUSA) is a non-profit corporation that represents the undergraduate students at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Governance Executive
Executive members of CUSA are elected yearly. ...
(CUSA) voted to drop their annual Shinerama fundraiser, on the alleged grounds that "cystic fibrosis has been recently revealed to only affect white people, and primarily men".
The controversy garnered attention from mainstream news media. According to the CCFF, cystic fibrosis does mainly affect Caucasians, which would also include nonwhites with ancestry from India and the Middle East, but also affects blacks and east Asians.
[ ] CUSA later announced plans to revisit their decision.
External links
Official Shinerama websiteCanadian Cystic Fibrosis website
See also
*
Cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...
*
Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Cystic Fibrosis Canada is a national charitable not-for-profit corporation established in 1960.
Cystic Fibrosis Canada's mandate is to help individuals with cystic fibrosis, principally by funding cystic fibrosis research and care. The organizat ...
Notes
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Charities based in Canada