Comments From a Canada Summer Jobs Student – No. 2

Hi Again!

It has been an exciting week here at Banting House as we prepare for a big event coming up on Sunday and I get to be a part of it all! Let me tell you a little bit more about what we have in store for the weekend. On July 31st, riders with the Sikh Motorcycle Club of Canada are stopping at Banting House as part of their Ride For Cause…Let’s End Diabetes campaign. Since 2019, the club has worked to raise over $150,000 to help fund vital research towards finding a cure for diabetes. Last summer, riders with the SMC as well as other visitors and motorcycling enthusiasts stopped here as part of their campaign and because it was such a success they are visiting us again this year! Leaving from Brampton, their expected arrival time is around 12pm to be on time for speeches and some refreshments. Alongside that, we are running the museum as an open house that day with admissions by donation from 11am until 4pm so it should shape up to be a busy and successful day. This year, the SMC are aiming to raise $100,000 or more to be put towards research necessary to help find a cure and they could use your help so if you are reading this and want to donate or learn more, visit rideforcause.ca!

I have been involved in posting on social media to raise awareness for the event and have found the whole process quite insightful. In preparing the Facebook event page, I learned that diabetes continues to impact more people than ever before with 1 in 3 Canadians living with or at risk of diabetes or prediabetes. Although insulin has helped with diabetes management over the past 100 years, there is still no cure so campaigns and fundraisers like this one are important in continuing to push research along. We can’t wait to welcome riders from the club and other visitors on Sunday!

The other project that has been on my radar the past couple of weeks is that of brainstorming and organizing for Diaversaries and the Brick Campaign we have here at Banting House. This campaign is a truly special one and it allows people to leave a lasting mark on Banting House. How it works is you can have a brick ordered and engraved with a name, special message, and/or a diaversary date. Once the bricks arrive, we keep them safe in the museum until they are ready to be placed in our Global Garden in the square. We also tend to share images of bricks on our social media accounts to celebrate diaversaries! To continue to promote the campaign, I was asked to do some research on other brick campaigns to come up with some ideas on new ways to promote the program. It has been interesting to see other similar campaigns and how significant of a program this seems to be for so many. It is an excellent way to be a part of history and to have your name permanently at a place that is important to you! I really look forward to implementing some of the ideas formulated, including a new special hashtag so that visitors who have a brick in the garden can share their stories. Keep an eye out on our social media accounts for more information and for details about the unveiling of bricks on World Diabetes Day!

That’s all from me for now but I’ll be back again next week to chat more!