Over $4,100 raised for Indigenous organizations
The Faculty of Law’s 12th annual Promise Auction Fundraiser took place between February 27 and March 3, raising a total of more than $4,100 for six Indigenous organizations. The fundraiser had two parts: the silent online Promise Auction, which ran throughout the week and raised over $1,920, and an online Trivia Night on March 1, which raised over $2,200.
The fundraiser supported Aboriginal Legal Services, the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto, the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, the Centre for Indigenous Theatre, the Indian Residential School Survivors’ Society, and the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre.
The Promise Auction took place online. Students and professors were invited to bid on a range of prizes donated by people within the Faculty. There were 24 total auction items; prizes included handmade crafts, baked goods, autographed books, and outings with professors.
The most popular auction item was a mixology class taught by a professional bartender, raising $150 after a heated 29 bids. The item that raised the most money was a set of four Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets, which raised $808 for the Indian Residential School Survivors’ Society.
The Trivia Night was hosted by Jeopardy champion Professor Niblett, and 20 teams participated. The questions were grouped into rounds, and each round’s answers provided hints toward that round’s overarching theme. Participants then had to guess the theme for every round. Some participants found this to be an additional layer of challenge on an already difficult (but fun) trivia night. “Niblett is too meta-brained for us,” joked Justin Kim (2L).
The professors’ team emerged victorious, with Dean Jutta Brunée, Assistant Dean Christopher Essert, Professor Brenda Cossman, and Professor Ariel Katz answering every single question correctly. Each winner received a $40 gift card to an Indigenous-owned business of their choice, although some professors chose to forgo their prize.
The fundraiser was entirely student-organized, with Stephanie Rei (3L) and Jane Cooper (3L) co-leading the Promise Auction Committee. The other Committee members were Victoria Purdy (3L), Ari Razack (2L), Claire Abbott (2L), Duncan Crabtree (2L), Daniel Jolic (1L), Jasmine Dong (1L), Laxsega Sivaloganathan (1L), and Sooyeon Park (1L). Julie Ann Shepard, Manager of Indigenous Initiatives, helped to communicate to the law school on the Committee’s behalf.
“We appreciate the entire law school community’s support,” commented Committee member Crabtree. “Several students, staff, and faculty generously donated promises. The auction of the promises raised an impressive sum for the six Indigenous-supporting organizations the committee selected. Many more students, staff, and faculty donated directly to the organizations and enthusiastically participated in the trivia night. As usual, Prof. Niblett hosted trivia with creativity, wit, and humour. Thank you, U of T Law!”
Editor’s Note: Ultra Vires contributed a “super-flattering article” to the silent auction.
