The aviation management program is looking to raise $15,000 to repaint an aircraft at the Ottawa Flying Club by the end of the semester.
The group of 20 students are working to raise money to repaint a Cessna 150 aircraft.
The second-year students plan on doing different fundraising activities such as selling pilot uniforms, a bake sale and a potluck styled dinner that incorporates international foods, though none of this is set in stone as the students are still in the process of planning everything.
One thing they do know is they plan on calling Algonquin alumni and pilots from the Ottawa Flying Club to donate. The amount they donate will be identified by level from bronze to diamond. Bronze donators will contribute $200 or more and diamond level donators are over $800 plus.
All donations of $100 or more will be eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
“We created a GoFundMe page and that is the main way we are trying to reach out to people, via the internet, via Facebook, via words; that is how we hope to gain a lot of the attraction,” said aviation student, Martine Vachon
All the money collected is being held by the Algonquin College Foundation.
According to the program coordinator, Bruce Dwyer, this is the first time the aviation program is doing a project like this in the program’s business course for credit.
The students delegated roles based on strength to execute the project as smoothly as possible. Some are in charge of communications and others oversee events. Dwyer acts as general manager on the project to make sure the students are staying straight, but takes a hands-off approach and generally lets the students work on their own.
Students in the program want to show “we care and we aren’t just the average students that go through a college program and leave and that’s it, that’s all,” said Teresa Mott, a second-year student. “We are trying to leave everywhere we’ve been as a better place than we came in.”