Rallying Rotman alumni talent in COVID response
Deanna Burger (EMBA ’19) co-founder, commUNITY Masks
When the pandemic hit, my son and I moved in with my sister Darby, her husband Colin, and their kids. One morning over breakfast we were talking about how grateful we were to have the opportunities we have, and to be able to afford food and PPE and everything else we need. We decided to do something to help those who are not as fortunate. After a few phone calls, the three of us launched commUNITY Masks on April 5, which makes high-quality, affordable masks and PPE-related lifestyle products.
The business did so well that within the first month we needed to find a professional large-scale manufacturer. I reached out to Rocca Morra Hodge, Director, Career Services, Executive MBA Programs, and Jennifer Hildebrandt, Director, Alumni Engagement, who connected me with several alumni involved in different areas of retail, manufacturing, etc. That’s how I met Tim Gu, a fellow graduate of the EMBA program who is a large-scale manufacturer with factories in Toronto and China. From that moment on, Tim and his team have been our strongest and most strategic partner.
At commUNITY we donate $1 from every item sold to Food Banks Canada. To date, because of our amazing customers, we have been able to provide over 100,000 meals nationwide. We’ve also donated face masks to a Niagara-based food bank; mental health initiatives across Canada; local women's shelters; the back-to-school family donation drive for a charitable organisation called Black Initiatives; a back-to-school initiative in Tennessee and Seattle spearheaded by Seattle Seahawks football player Ugo Amadi and many others.
Paying it forward with design
Avinash Raj (MBA ’12) RGD, MDes, BE, Strategy and Service Design Lead, Canada Post
After looking for opportunities to serve charities using my design expertise and not finding many, my friend Ashok and I set out to fill this gap. In a survey we confirmed that many people are willing to donate in skills and time. In June 2020, we launched our official Slack channel, PAY IT FWD. The lockdown had dealt a devastating blow to organizations driving positive social and environmental change, and PAY IT FWD gave a community of volunteer designers the opportunity to pick up design projects posted by charities and work on them for free.
We now have a community of over 200 members consisting of designers and non-profits. We have completed multiple design, video and content-related projects for these non-profits, and continue to work on more every week.
One of our most ambitious projects to date is a partnership with Studio.89, a non-profit that aims to provide creative outlets and learning opportunities for youth within the Peel Region. The goal is to create and teach a graphic design course so that the youth can create their own digitized art and tell the world about their personal pandemic story and mental health before they embark into the professional art world. The designers also will spend time at PayItFwd and work on active projects helping the non-profits in the community — truly living up to our philosophy of Paying it Forward.
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