Georgian College speaks out against poverty

from Simcoe

Georgian College staff, students and faculty will soon join millions of people around the world as they Stand Up and Speak Out to Make Poverty History.

Stand Up is an innovative and exciting challenge issued by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and the United Nations Millennium Campaign.

Last year, 23.5 million people worldwide, including 49,000 Canadians, stood up against poverty in a 24-hour period, setting a Guinness World Record.

The intent is to let world leaders know that they are being held accountable for their promises to end poverty by 2015.

A Stand Up event can be any type of gathering – concerts, sporting matches, movie theatres are just some examples. It can take place anywhere – at work, in the streets, at the family dinner table or in the classroom. The only requirement is that there must be a time when everyone reads a poverty pledge and stands up for one minute to be counted for the Guinness World Record.

Anita Arvast, professor, University Partnership Centre, and co-ordinator of the Stand Up event, sees this as a way to collectively create change, as well as a great way to show off Georgian College’s community spirit.

"We are very fortunate in our society to have so much that the majority of humanity does not have. From the simple act of turning on a water tap to the luxury of higher education, I firmly believe that we have to be both grateful for our fortune and willing to translate this good fortune to make our world a better place,” said Arvast.

The Georgian College Stand Up event will take place Oct. 17 at 2:50 p.m. in the Alumni Courtyard, Barrie campus. Students, staff, faculty and members of the community are welcome to attend.

For more information about the fight against poverty, visit http://makepovertyhistory.ca/e/stand-up.