Promise Auction’s Trivia Night raises over $6,000 for local Indigenous organizations
The Promise Auction is an annual fundraising event that raises money for Indigenous organizations. In the past, law students, staff, faculty, and alumni would bid on photo sessions, bike tours, and baked goods offered by professors and students alike.
With the ongoing pandemic and stay-at-home orders, however, the tenth Annual Promise Auction took place on March 11 in the form of a virtual trivia night with Professor Anthony Niblett — former Jeopardy champion — as quizmaster. The event was organized by the Promise Auction Committee, comprising Lilly Gates (3L), Brian Huang (3L), Molly Campbell (2L), Hannah Bourgeois (2L), Stephanie Rei (1L), Adam Kouri (1L), and Jane Fallis-Cooper (1L).
The event brought in participation from 32 teams and a total of 120 participants, including Dean Jutta Brunnée, Professor James Phillips, Professor Chris Essert, the library staff, and alumni from graduating classes ranging from 1976 to 2019. Each team answered seven rounds of questions on a variety of topics, from Greek and Roman mythology to movie titles, classical versions of pop songs, and world leaders.
After each team wagered double-or-nothing in the final round, the Arcane Femmes — comprising Kerri Salata, June Ip, Judy Dobbs, and Leslie Madden (GPLLM candidates) — came out on top.
Second and third came down to a nail-biting tiebreaker between Les Quizerables (Saskia De Vries, Jane Fallis Cooper, Haya Sardar, and Stephanie Rei, 1Ls) and Brudner’s Brooders (Claudia Shek, Daniel Gao, Kelsey Chisamore, and William Mazurek, 3Ls), with the former winning second place.
The winning team, from top left clockwise: Kerri Salata, June Ip, Judy Dobbs, and Leslie Madden.
The first place team took home a swag package from Students’ Law Society and the University of Toronto Bookstore, valued at $85. Members of the second and third place teams won $40 and $20 gift cards from small businesses.
The event raised a record breaking $6,208 for Aboriginal Legal Services, Native Women’s Resource Center of Toronto, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, and Centre for Indigenous Theatre.
“I’m in awe at the generosity of the law school community who came together to support the incredible work of these Indigenous organizations at such a difficult time,” Gates said.
In a year where we’re all staying socially distant, the Promise Auction Committee is glad to have been a part of an event that brought the law school community a little closer together.
Amanda Carling, Manager of the Indigenous Initiatives Office, shared her reflections on this event.
“Brian, Lilly and the rest of the planning committee went above and beyond this year to raise more money than ever for Indigenous organizations in need.” Carling expressed how this was a shining example of allyship and appreciates the time, effort, and knowledge Professor Niblett put into preparing the quiz and hosting the evening.
“I’m [also] really grateful to all the alumni — especially my class of 2012 friends! — who participated and made generous donations to the organizations,” said Carling.
Given a challenging and isolating school year, the tenth Promise Auction was a bright spot that reconnected the law school community for a great cause.
