From March 28 – 30, UFV’s Circle K club will be raising money and awareness for the Canadian Cancer Society with Daffodil Days, their contribution to the month-long fundraising effort put forward by the charity. For those three days, members of the club will be on the UFV green from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. selling freshly cut daffodils and daffodil pins.
This is the second year UFV Circle K club has participated in the fundraiser. Last time, in 2015, the club raised $1,171.74 over the course of three days. While they were not able to attempt again in 2016, this year they hope to raise at least $1,000 from sales. “Honestly, we had never thought we’d raise the amount we did — especially since it was our first year as a club and our first time organizing such a large event!” explained Ekanki Chawla, UFV Circle K club’s vice president.
In addition to the fundraising, they plan to engage students with a contest. “Something new this year is that we’ll have a Snapchat filter available for the event,” added the club’s secretary, Harman Waring. “If attendees use the Snapchat filter, they will be automatically entered for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Tim Hortons.”
The club also hopes that their efforts will inform and educate the university community on several forms of cancer, particularly those caused by frequent habits of university students. Specifically, they will be providing information on the risks of smoking and tobacco products, alcohol consumption, and tanning.
Chawla also mentioned the support they received from UFV’s community in 2015. “The faculty was very supportive, and many brought out their colleagues and even informed their classes. Students were also very excited to help support this cause and were amazed by the energy and capacity of our club in the first year.”
As part of an international collegiate organization with over 13,770 members, UFV’s Circle K club is focused on making a positive impact on UFV and the community around it. According to Waring, “Some events we’ve organized are the annual Halloween bash, campus-wide Easter egg hunt, street cleanups, and random acts of kindness. We’re involved around the community too, and help out at the local food bank, assist with soup kitchens, sing Christmas carols at seniors’ homes, and volunteer at the Abbotsford Bloom Tulip Festival.” They plan to host movie nights throughout the summer, as well as participating in adopt a street and helping students through exams by handing out chocolates.
With over $5,000 raised for various charities since 2015, the club anticipates they’ll add more to that during Daffodil Days. Chawla says they’re “super excited to be putting on this event, and can’t wait to see how it turns out.” Daffodil Days will take place on the UFV green from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. from March 28 – 30.
Jeff was The Cascade's Editor in Chief for the latter half of 2022, having previously served as Digital Media Manager, Culture & Events Editor, and Opinion Editor. One time he held all three of those positions for a month, and he's not sure how he survived that. He started at The Cascade in 2016.
