People helping people

Neale McDevitt

Robert Malvasio

Michèle Thibodeau-Deguire has a soft spot in her heart for McGill. The acting president and executive director of Centraide clearly remembers the organization's very first march back in 1991. "There were 300 of us and we began on McGill's campus and walked down McGill College before stopping at de Maisonneuve," she laughs. "It was short but it was the start of something big."

While much has changed in the ensuing 15 years — this year's March of 1,000 Umbrellas topped 10,000 participants — one thing remains the same; it all starts at McGill.

Today, Centraide raises money for some 325 community agencies and projects in the Greater Montreal Region. This year, in what Thibodeau-Deguire calls the "chain of help," thousands of volunteers will solicit a projected $50.5 million from hundreds of thousands of donors that will directly come to the aid of some half a million people.

McGill, with a goal of $285,000 this year, is an important link in that chain. People are encouraged to donate to this worthy cause either by direct donations or payroll deductions (go to www.mcgill.ca/centraide/donationcard2003) or by participating in the many fundraising activities such as Trivia Night, the Silent Auction and the ever-popular Chocolate Sale. For more information contact your Centraide Coordinator or go to www.mcgill.ca/centraide.