Left to right: City of Windsor chief administrative officer Ray Mensour, president of the Odette Commerce Society Makennah Murphy, director of the Farrow Family Foundation Jeff Farrow, City of Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens, board chair of the Farrow Family Foundation Pat Soulliere and City of Windsor Commissioner Dana Paladino. (RONAK DOOWD/University of Windsor)
By Victor Romao
A student-led campaign to confront homelessness in Windsor has culminated in a nearly $25,000 donation to the city’s Homelessness and Housing Help Hub (H4), with students raising the funds through a five-day campus challenge and a matching contribution from the Farrow Family Foundation.
Representatives from the University of Windsor’s Odette Commerce Society joined city officials at Windsor City Hall April 27 for a cheque presentation supporting the hub, a central component of Windsor’s homelessness response.
The fundraising total of $24,802.45, reflects proceeds from the Five-Day Challenge for Homelessness, held March 16 to 20, along with a $15,000 matching contribution from the Farrow Family Foundation.
The initiative builds on momentum from earlier in March, when students hosted a Lunch and Learn panel bringing together municipal leaders, police, health-care providers and frontline agencies to examine the realities of homelessness and local response efforts.
The campaign aimed not only to raise funds, but also to challenge perceptions.
Makennah Murphy, president of the Odette Commerce Society and organizer of the Five-Day Challenge, said the idea was shaped by both academic experience and exposure to national student initiatives.
“My motivation to bring this initiative to Windsor came from two key experiences,” she said.
“Through a consulting course I had at Odette last winter, I had the opportunity to work directly with Kelly Goz and Nora Romero from the City of Windsor. This experience really moved the issue of homelessness from something abstract to something real.”
Murphy said her involvement with the Canadian Association of Business Students also influenced the campaign.
“I saw how impactful the Five Days campaign had been at other universities,” she said. “That’s when it clicked — there was an opportunity to connect these two experiences and bring something meaningful to our own community.”
The Five-Day Challenge is a national initiative encouraging campuses to organize awareness and fundraising efforts focused on homelessness. Windsor’s version featured a series of events designed to engage students and encourage action beyond financial contributions.
City officials said the funds will support services delivered through H4, which connects individuals experiencing homelessness to housing, health care and income supports.
City staff involved in homelessness programming said the campaign demonstrates how education can translate into community impact.
“Over the five days, tomorrow’s leaders turned social responsibility into action, creating a lasting local impact,” said Kelly Goz (BA ’02), a manager with the city’s housing support programs.
“Awareness can move into action and with the right people in the room, anything is possible,” she said.
The effort reflects an ongoing collaboration between the city and Odette students aimed at raising awareness of homelessness in Windsor-Essex.
The Five-Day Challenge is expected to return next year, with organizers aiming to build on this year’s results and further strengthen connections between the university and the community.