PATCH (Pre-Professional Association Toward Careers in Health)

Thanks for a Sweet Contest, Cornell Students!

thesophiefund

Cornell University students from six campus organizations volunteered at the 10th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest, an event to raise awareness about mental health, and collected donations in The Sophie Fund’s related Cupcake Button fundraising campaign.

Cornell volunteers, reporting for duty!

More than 25 volunteers came from Alpha Phi Omega–Gamma Chapter, Cornell Circle K, Pre-Professional Association Toward Careers in Health (PATCH), Realizing Integration, Support, and Education for Underserved Populations at Cornell (RISEUP), Hotel Graduate Student Organization, and Voices of Equity.

Students arrived for the October 18 event at the Bernie Milton Pavilion in the Commons as the autumn dawn was breaking. They hauled tables and chairs to set up the contest, registered contestants, guarded the entries, participated in the judging, created awards certificates, connected with community mental health partners, and broke down the event space afterwards.

Contestant registration team

Students spent the previous two weeks collecting donations for Ithaca Welcomes Refugees, which provides comprehensive support services for refugees and other immigrants arriving in Tompkins County. The Sophie Fund hosts the cupcake contest every October, and organizes the “Cupcake Button” fundraising campaign to support Ithaca nonprofits aiding mental health in the community.

RISEUP’s Harmony Guan and friends supporting Ithaca Welcomes Refugees

Speaking at the Awards Ceremony, Harmony Guan, RISEUP’s mental health committee lead, said her group partnered with The Sophie Fund because of the intersection between refugees and mental health.

“We’re an organization at Cornell that supports refugees and underserved populations,” she said. “Refugees face many struggles, stressors of coming from another country to a new country, culture shock.”

The sweet side of volunteering: judging the cupcake contest

Volunteering with The Sophie Fund

Thank You, Cornell Students!

thesophiefund

Cornell University students from six campus organizations spent two weeks in October supporting the 7th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest and the Cupcake Button fundraising campaign for mental health.

Participating groups included Cornell Circle K, Alpha Phi Omega, Phi Sigma Pi, PATCH (Pre-Professional Association Toward Careers in Health), Cornell Health International, and Reflect at Cornell.

In remarks at the cupcake contest awards ceremony on October 15, Max Fante, a Cornell Circle K leader, thanked Ithaca mental health providers for supporting student wellbeing.

“Students around the world are constantly struggling, with worries of failure and disappointment,” he said. “Without any direction or help, they find themselves lost. The young mind is especially fragile, as we are taking our experiences, and shaping how we respond to stress and decision making in the future. Your support for such an important cause is critical for students.”

Cupcake Contest: The Morning Crew

Fante and his fellow student volunteers spent the first two weeks of October raising funds for the Finger Lakes affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). The annual Cupcake Button campaign is coordinated by The Sophie Fund to support mental health organizations in the greater Ithaca community.

At the contest, also organized by The Sophie Fund, the student volunteers set up the venue, ran contest registration, served as preliminary-round judges, created special award certificates, and cleaned the event space afterwards.

Cupcake Contest: The Afternoon Crew

“We are immensely grateful for the support of Cornell student organizations,” said Scott MacLeod, co-founder of The Sophie Fund. “The students are fantastic advocates for mental health on campus, and their efforts to raise money supports the vital work of Ithaca community mental health organizations. And, the student volunteers help us make the cupcake contest a mental health awareness event every year.”

Cupcake Contest: Members of the Phi Sigma Pi team

Cupcake Contest: That’s a Wrap!