Class Councils Continue to Fundraise Through COVID

Even through the pandemic and the three semester plan this year, class councils are still working to raise money for their senior weeks. Both the class of 2022 and class of 2023 are fundraising in the coming weeks.

The class of 2022 created an online store to sell merchandise to current students at St. Lawrence. A member of the class created an original design that was put onto sweatshirts and masks, featuring a sunset skyline. 

The sweatshirts and masks will be on sale until October 28. 

The class of 2023 is selling Halloween candy grams and Pub cookie stickers in the student center through October 26. 

Frances Hubbard ’22, a member of the class council, says while it hasn’t been difficult to get people to participate in fundraisers this year, there have been some challenges. “It has been harder to adapt to not only a virtual format, but having our class split up with some on campus and some not,” she said. “We want everyone to be involved and included, and the nature of SLU’s COVID plan made that really hard for the class of 2022.”

Due to numerous juniors being off-campus, the 2022 council decided to make as much of their fundraisers online as possible. They also kept student’s financial situations in mind. “We’ve also made a point to make every fundraiser we do affordable, because we understand that the pandemic has affected people’s livelihoods,” Hubbard said. “I think we also have been creative and unique with our fundraisers so people will participate.”

The class of 2022 utilized social media to sell their merchandise. The group shared their virtual store in multiple Facebook groups and Instagram to market not only to students off campus, but also parents and alums. “While we can’t be physically together, we can still connect with the Laurentian community online,” Hubbard said.  “We have such generous alumni and family, and without social media we as a council wouldn’t be able to connect with them as easily!”

The pandemic has affected previous plans of the class council. COVID restrictions and the split of students on campus has made it difficult to hold events. “We definitely had to scrap ideas and adjust to work within the pandemic,” Hubbard said.

However, the difficulties taught Hubbard and the rest of the council about working hard. “There have been recent times when I’ve been trying to organize a fundraiser for class council and just hit a roadblock because of the pandemic,” she said. “With teamwork and thinking outside the box, we’ve been able to adapt and in the end I think our fundraisers are stronger.” 

2022 class president Lauren Arthaud feels her role changed this year, as the class council became a voice for the class. After the three semester plan was announced this summer, the council asked classmate’s their concerns and questions about the 2020-2021 year. With the feedback received, an open letter to the university was written. “With all that’s happened, I think myself, along with the rest of the class council members, have been presented the opportunity to stand up for our classmates, and help them be heard,” Arthaud said. 

Arthaud says she hopes to keep classmates feeling unified. “With our class being divided this year, losing abroad experiences, facing the difficulty of online courses, among many other challenges, I hope to provide them with everything I can to make the best experience possible,” she said. “We have been trying to keep our classmates off campus involved so they still feel like a part of our family.”

The class of 2023 has also been fundraising despite the challenges of the pandemic. Hannah Crow ’23, class president, believes the members of the class council were the reason the group was able to put their ideas into action. “I am so lucky that the Class Council has some great members on campus that are willing to step up when things get difficult,” she said. “We have also learned how to be more flexible as this is an uncertain time and planning things can be more difficult than it was before.”

Crow also had to make some adjustments to ideas she had prior to the pandemic. “I ran my entire campaign advocating for more diverse and inclusive events on campus and lowering food waste and trash on campus. Of course, these ideas had to be modified as not all students are on campus right now and COVID-19 rules make it harder to lower food waste and trash,” she said. 

However, Crow says there are still plans to work on these initiatives in the future, working in ways that are safe and accessible during the current situation. “Uncertain times call for flexibility and adjustment!” Crow said. 

Both class years have also given back to the Canton community. Last spring, the class of 2022 created and fundraised for a GoFundMe for a local Canton foodbank. The class of 2023 is currently working to organize a fundraiser for COVID relief in the spring.

Support the classes of 2022 and 2023 raise money for their senior week. Shop the 2022 online store at https://stores.inksoft.com/slu_22/shop/home

Purchase a sticker or candy gram for the class of 2023 in the Student Center Monday, Wednesday or Friday through October 26.