In 2016, Capitalize for Kids launched a brand new initiative called the Student Challenge to add value to students across Canada by improving financial literacy, providing professional development benefits, as well as the opportunity to help solve the toughest challenges in children’s brain and mental health. The Student Challenge is a national investing competition where post-secondary students across all 10 provinces competed to be crowned Canada’s top student investor, all while fundraising with their campus in support of the cause.

Nearly 1,000 students participated and raised $40,000 in support of children’s brain and mental health! We couldn’t be happier with these results and this was only made possible by the students across the country who competed, and raised money for the cause. We also owe a special thank you to the 70 Campus Ambassadors that were mobilized across the country to get their peers involved in the Student Challenge. Take a look at some of the highlights from a few of the Ambassadors across the country!

Ambassadors went above and beyond simply promoting the Student Challenge, and thought about how to integrate participation and fundraising onto their campuses.

Wilfrid Laurier University Integrated the Student Challenge into their Finance Club:
Integrating the Student Challenge amongst the club’s members allowed Laurier to successfully register the highest amount of students in the country, with a total of 153! Ambassador Muaaz Ahmad, the president of the Laurier Investment and Finance Club, was motivated to bolster the reputation of the club by having a charitable cause to rally around and support.

Concordia University Embedded the Student Challenge into a Finance Course:
Ambassador Andrew Barlett, took the initiative to integrate the Student Challenge into a classroom on his campus by partnering with Michael Gentile, a finance professor and portfolio manager at Formula Growth. This leadership by Andrew was a tremendous success! Michael Gentile’s finance seminar had full participation in the Student Challenge, and this allowed them to focus their time effectively and have a common platform to work with. It also allowed the students that wanted to go deeper into the learning process the ability to do so.

The University of Manitoba Held a Local Fundraising Event:
The University of Manitoba exceeded their own fundraising expectations by hosting a campus-wide event. Ambassadors Deelaka Ratnayake, Kira Pearson, Aaron Menon, and Aaron Joyal partnered with a local comedy club to host an event for students on behalf of Capitalize for Kids, and proceeds went towards their fundraising. This initiative alone raised $762.50!

These are just some examples of the extraordinary work that students across the country led on their campuses. Capitalize for Kids wants to thank each and every participant and student ambassador for their commitment to growing this cause, it is incredible to see everything that they were able to accomplish. Together, we can solve the toughest challenges in children’s brain and mental health, and we are looking forward to doing it again this year!

Funds raised support early stage research at The Centre for Brain and Mental Health at SickKids. This work will yield new insights into the brain, and how we should be delivering mental health services to children across the country. Stay tuned for more updates on this!