Shinerama shines this Saturday

Students are getting ready to put the shine on North Bay and area this Saturday to put an end to Cystic Fibrosis.

The Nipissing University Student Union (NUSU) is gearing up for the annual Shinerama campaign, taking place Saturday, September 1, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at a sites around the community.

The day starts off with the Shine Ceremony at the campus pond, where students will hear from Vicky Foster, a high school student with Cystic Fibrosis.  From there, they’ll head out to 12 locations around North Bay, Powassan and Sturgeon Falls, where they will be washing cars, shining shoes, helping carry groceries and whatever else they can do to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Canada through the Shinerama campaign.

"We’ve set a goal of $15,000 for this year and I am confident that with North Bay’s generosity, we can exceed that amount,” said Xander Winter, vice-president communications for NUSU.  “The shirts that the students will be wearing read ‘Not all Heroes Wear Capes’ which corresponds to all the people living with Cystic Fibrosis every day, as well as the students fundraising and the people who donate.  We are all heroes working together to end Cystic Fibrosis.”

Shinerama is Canada’s largest post-secondary fundraiser in support of Cystic Fibrosis Canada. Over 35,000 student volunteers from 45 Canadian universities and colleges across the country come together every year to make a difference in the lives of those battling cystic fibrosis (CF). Student volunteers all over Canada are shining shoes, flipping burgers, washing cars and doing whatever it takes to raise crucial funding to fight cystic fibrosis. Since 1964, Shinerama has raised approximately $27 million dollars for life-saving CF research and care.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a fatal inherited disease that affects mainly the lungs and the digestive system. About one in every 2,500 children born in Canada has CF. Thanks to the advances in research and clinical care, more and more kids with CF are surviving into adulthood. In 1960, children born with cystic fibrosis rarely lived four years; today, in Canada, people with CF live into their thirties and beyond.

Nipissing University has been participating in Shinerama since the inception of its Charter in 1992, and, has helped raised more than $322,000.