This text is part of the special Philanthropy section
Invest in research on multiple sclerosis, support for the studies of Aboriginal women or the training of the next generation specializing in dental care for seniors … former graduates of the University of Montreal (UdeM) are reinvesting in the establishment. And their donations help make things better.
Meeting one of the needs of the aging population
With the aging of the Quebec population, a need is becoming more and more pressing in dental offices: to rely on gerontologists, that is to say dentists specializing in oral care for the elderly.
The Faculty of Dentistry at UdeM trains approximately 450 students per year, which represents 75% of students trained in the province, according to UdeM figures. Of this number, a minority will specialize with the program of 2e cycle in gerontology at the university, unique in the country. The problem is that there is not only a shortage of qualified gerontologists, but also of teachers with the required knowledge in dentistry and geriatrics to train this precious succession.
To fill this gap, the former graduate in dental medicine from the university, Gisèle Beaulieu, has invested in a scholarship fund for graduates of the doctorate of 1er cycle committing to a program of 2e cycle in gerontology and wishing to teach in the institution. To create these scholarships, Mme Beaulieu joined forces with André B. Charron, grandson of the dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at UdeM between 1943 and 1957 and a regular donor to the university. They hope in this way to help meet the need for professionals in this field.
Canoeing or running for multiple sclerosis
More than 77,000 Canadians have multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease whose causes remain unknown. Félix Jasmin is one of them. To contribute to the advancement of research and medicine in order to slow the progression of the disease, he decided to start a major fundraising campaign, called the Grand Portage.
“The Grand Portage was the last leg of a 37-day expedition,” wrote Jasmin on the campaign website, referring to his canoe trips to Ontario. For a young canoeist, it was an intimidating, difficult, but so rewarding rite of passage. Today, as a patient with MS, he represents, for me and others with this disease, a long way to go. “
As part of the Grand Portage challenge, teams also take turns transporting a canoe over 700 kilometers on the roads between Toronto and Montreal. Participants responded to the call in several Canadian provinces and American states, but also elsewhere in the world, such as Australia or Uruguay, to carry out their version of the portage, by walking, running or by bike.
The money thus collected is entirely donated to the joint research projects of Dr. Jack Antel, researcher at McGill, and Dr. Alexandre Prat, researcher at the CRCHUM, professor at the University of Montreal and holder of the Canada Research Chair on multiple sclerosis. These two experts study the immunological and neurological mechanisms that contribute to the progression of the disease. “Founded over 35 years ago, this unique collaboration between the two great Montreal institutions allows them to remain at the cutting edge of global knowledge in the field of MS,” explains Félix Jasmin. So far, the Grand Portage has raised more than $ 580,000 for research.
Support Indigenous students
Bernadette Ska, professor at the School of Speech Therapy and Audiology of the Faculty of Medicine, and Jean-Marie Van Der Maren, Honorary Professor of the Faculty, decided to invest in the support of indigenous students. of education sciences at UdeM. They created a scholarship fund to support young indigenous women in their university studies in programs mainly related to the fields of health and education. The fund was named in honor of Marie Two-Ax Earley, a Canadian Indigenous activist for the rights of Indigenous women and children. The philanthropic fund created by the faculty duo constitutes the equivalent of a private foundation created within the university. Since the creation of the fund in 2017, 11 people have received this scholarship.