Coffee with a difference

For many of us, our morning take-away coffee is a ritual we don’t give a lot of thought. But on Wednesday 29 October, your daily coffee run could be an opportunity to significantly impact someone’s future.

UTS’s fifth annual Coffee for a Cause fundraising event is a chance to put your caffeine fix to good use and help transform the lives of students in need. For a donation of just $5 towards the UTS Staff Giving Program, you can join your colleagues for coffee, a cronut and a break from work.

For every coffee purchased from an ActivateUTS outlet on the day, the union will also donate $2 to the kitty.

Vianney Uwamahoro. Photographer: Kevin Cheung

Last year’s event raised over $3500 for students facing financial hardship – $1797 from student and staff contributions, which was matched dollar-for-dollar by the university.

Bachelor of Midwifery student Vianney Uwamahoro is one of hundreds of students who have received support from the Staff Giving Program over the past 10 years.

Uwamahoro was only eight when she was orphaned by genocide. The lone survivor from her family, she overcame great odds to continue her studies and graduate from medical school, but the continuing political instability in her African homeland made it impossible to work.

Shocked by the state of health care and the resulting poor birth outcomes for women and babies in Africa, Uwamahoro’s passion to make a difference led her to study at UTS.

To begin with, it was tough to make ends meet. “I actually considered stopping because I wasn’t able to cope financially,” she says.

But Uwamahoro contacted UTS’s Financial Assistance service, who helped her access a desktop computer and laptop, as well as a grant to help with her water and electricity bills. This assistance was made possible by the Staff Giving Program.

Uwamahoro is just four subjects from completing her degree, and now much closer to achieving her dream of improving people’s lives through quality antenatal care.

Staff at Coffee for a Cause 2013. Photographer: Kevin Cheung

“All of this is possible because of people’s generosity,” she says. “Words cannot express how thankful I am for their life-changing contributions.”

Staff donor Dana Cordell says, “Education is one of the greatest gifts you can give, and when you see the impact of that contribution on a community scale, I think it’s much more powerful.”

Cordell, a Chancellor’s Post-Doctoral Fellow and Research Principal at the Institute for Sustainable Futures says, “It’s really easy to join online – it takes just a couple of minutes. Then money is automatically deducted from your pre-tax salary each fortnight. You don’t even notice it!”

Last year, UTS staff donated a total of almost $70 000, matched dollar-for-dollar by the university to provide $140 000 in assistance to a broad range of students experiencing financial difficulties.

From book vouchers to equity-based scholarships and smaller grants for living expenses and additional study costs, for many, this money has meant the difference between completing their studies and dropping out.

“If every staff member was contributing to the Staff Giving Program,” says Cordell, “imagine how powerful that would be.”

Coffee for a Cause will be held on Wednesday 29 October at 10am, on level 4 of the Tower building.

To join the Staff Giving Program or learn more, visit the Staff Giving website.