Community Outreach Clubs
Find out more about the clubs under this commission
After School Buddies
After School Buddies (ASB) works with the Boys and Girls Club of the greater Kingston area. ASB offers volunteer opportunities for Queen’s students to help facilitate athletic, artistic, and academic programming with a wide range of age groups at the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston. In addition, ASB aims to plan and implement events at the Boys and Girls club, integrating a variety of Queen’s clubs, to offer enriching experiences for participating children and youth. The ASB Executive Committee focuses on organizing fundraising and awareness events for the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston on Queen’s campus. Major events include a halloween awareness campaign and an annual Dare 2 Dodge dodgeball tournament. All proceeds are donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston at the end of each school year.
Alzheimer’s Outreach
The Alzheimer's Outreach committee (AO) aims to raise awareness for Alzheimer's and dementia in the Queen's community and fundraise for the Alzheimer's Society of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington. AO facilitates this outreach through on-campus and off-campus initiatives. On-campus, the committee runs awareness and fundraising initiatives such as a whiteboard campaign and annual Arts and Acoustics brunch event. Off-campus, the committee additionally runs a companionship program with the Alzheimer’s Society of Kingston by pairing Queen’s student volunteers with a community member living with Alzheimer’s or dementia. All proceeds from annual fundraisers are donated to the Alzheimer’s Society of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington at the end of each school year.
Email ao@asus.queensu.ca
Partners in Education
Partners in Education (PIE) rests on three pillars: volunteering, fundraising and awareness initiatives. The PIE volunteer program entails working directly with Pathways to Education and their various mentorship programs, including tutoring and active living promotion. The committee aims to assist with the mission of Pathways to Education to break the cycle of poverty for students in Northern Kingston. The committee runs various on- and off-campus fundraising and awareness initiatives with all proceeds going towards the Kingston chapter of Pathways to Education. PIE also aims to bring students from Pathways to Education to the Queen’s campus to engage in experiential and discovery-based learning activities in a post-secondary setting. ASUS Partners in Education strives to start conversations and break down misconceptions about poverty in Kingston and how we can promote equity in our community.
Autism Partnership
The Autism Partnership committee (AP) is dedicated to supporting individuals in the Queen’s and Kingston communities impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The club consists of two main branches aimed at targeting the focal tenets of ASD advocacy: the Executive Committee, which facilitates fundraising, awareness, and outreach activities; and volunteer programs, consisting of the Awesome Possums and Buddy Program. The Executive Committee is responsible for organizing fundraising and awareness initiatives, such as the annual Trevstock concert, Bowl with a Goal event, and Food Truck fundraiser. The two volunteer programs are designed to provide programming for children on the autism spectrum through a one-on-one pairing with a Queen’s student in the Buddy Program, or through a weekly drop-in centre in the Awesome Possums program. The overall goal of the two volunteer programs to provide an enriching and safe environment for children with ASD to promote social and personal development. All fundraised proceeds are donated to Autism Ontario at the end of each year.
Cancer Triad
Cancer Triad (CT) focuses their efforts around 3 objectives: fundraising, awareness, and volunteering. The fundraising and awareness initiatives are primarily carried out by the Cancer Triad Committee. These initiatives support the Kingston chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society, as well as Movember Canada. The committee's major undertaking in the fall semester is the ASUS Movember campaign, which involves fundraising to support prostate cancer research. The committee also supports other cancer-based fundraising and awareness initiatives on campus, such as Relay for Life and Bladder Cancer Canada’s Kingston chapter. Cancer Triad strives to provide a framework for passionate students to have a positive impact on both the Queen's and greater Kingston healthcare communities.
Crohn’s and Colitis
The Crohn’s and Colitis (CC) committee has three primary goals: to raise awareness for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), to raise funds for Crohn's and Colitis Canada, and to provide a support network for Queen’s students who are diagnosed with IBD. In partnership with Crohn's and Colitis Canada’s Kingston chapter, CC hosts educational events for Queen’s students and the Kingston community to increase awareness and decrease stigma surrounding IBD. In addition, the committee organizes a variety of fundraising events such as pumpkin carving, IBD exam care packages, and the annual Gutsy Walk in March. The overall goal of this committee is to foster an inclusive environment and breakdown the stigma surrounding IBD.
Community Living
The Community Living (CL) club aims to raise awareness about the importance of an inclusive and accessible environment and break down stigmas surrounding living with a disability. The club has two main branches: the Executive committee and the volunteers. The committee is responsible for organizing and executing fundraising and awareness initiatives to raise funds for Community Living Kingston and highlight the importance of an accessible and inclusive environment. In addition to fundraising and raising awareness, the CL club provides a volunteer program between Queen’s students and individuals living with an intellectual disability. The CL volunteer program is unique in that it offers a range of volunteer opportunities. These include: being paired one-on-one with an individual, volunteering in a daycare, or running group activities. Together, ASUS Community Living and Community Living Kingston strive to promote inclusion for everyone, at Queen's and the greater Kingston area.
Heart and Stroke
The Heart and Stroke committee (HS) aims to inspire students to make positive changes in their life through promoting healthy eating, active living, and increasing awareness about heart disease and mental health. HS works with the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Kingston chapter both on Queen’s campus and in the Kingston community to achieve this goal. On campus, the committee organizes fundraising and awareness initiatives, such as the annual DOGA event and Athlete Auction fundraiser. Additionally, the HS student volunteers work in the Kingston community with representatives from the Heart and Stroke foundation to execute events such as the Big Bike Campaign and other educational presentations at local high schools. All proceeds collected through these various initiatives are donated to the Kingston chapter of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Email heart@asus.queensu.ca
Kids 4 Kids
The main goal of Kids 4 Kids (K4K) is to raise awareness for the Child Life programs in Kingston. The Child Life programs work to improve sick children's welfare when admitted to a hospital. The Kids 4 Kids executive team is responsible for organizing and executing fundraising events throughout the school year. These events aim to raise awareness on campus for the importance of child life programs and fundraise for Children’s Outpatient Clinics (COPC) in Kingston. In addition, the Co-Chairs and executive committee are responsible for planning events in the COPC to provide diversionary and engaging activities for the children and support for the families.
Email k4k@asus.queensu.ca
Lost Paws
ASUS Lost Paws (LP) works with local animal rescue organizations, including the Kingston Humane Society and Kingston Animal Rescue, to improve the quality of life of shelter animals. The club’s three main goals are to fundraise, raise awareness, and volunteer in the community. Awareness Week and Critters on Campus are two of the main events that raise funds for these organizations and unite Queen's students with the Kingston community. The events also spread awareness of local animal issues, such as overpopulation, and encourage animal adoption and fostering options. An added benefit of the LP events is that they give students the opportunity to destress through animal interaction. In addition to fundraising efforts, Lost Paws offers a daily opportunities for Queen’s students to volunteer at the Kingston Humane Society to provide socialization and exercise that the animals need to remain healthy and fit for adoption.
Email lostpaws@asus.queensu.ca