Humber College schools/departments are invited to develop and submit proposals for innovative and engaging initiatives with local community non-profit organizations

Projects funded through this initiative provide the opportunity for academic schools and administrative departments to further cultivate relationships with partners and stakeholders – bringing the community to Humber and Humber into the community in support of Humber’s new Strategic plan.

The priority of these initiatives is to enhance the lives of local children, youth, Aboriginal peoples, newcomers and other groups who would benefit from projects that enrich learning and increase exposure and access to a variety of pathways into education, training and/or employment and/or build organizational capacity of community agencies who share this same focus. Project participants would typically only be able to participate in these activities when provided free of charge or for a minimal fee.

Engaging Humber students in projects to allow them the opportunity to deepen and apply the knowledge of their curriculum through a volunteer experience or as a paid placement is also encouraged.

Submissions due: November 22, 2013

Email: lynn.vanlieshout@humber.ca to receive funding application and guidelines
Email: sabra.desai@humber.ca to discuss possible funding ideas, links to community partners and to refine concepts

Humber Research is pleased to announce that the ground-breaking online student resource Get Your Hours was launched this month.

Get Your Hours is an innovative web platform designed to help high school students meet their volunteer goals. The first of its kind, Get Your Hours connects students in need of volunteer hours with charities in need of volunteers.

As part of the requirements for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), every student who begins secondary school during or after the 1999-2000 school year must complete a minimum of 40 hours of community involvement activities. While previously students had to track years of volunteer work on a piece of scrap paper, Get Your Hours makes the process of youth engagement and volunteer work more exciting, intuitive, and accessible for the internet savvy high school generation. The platform matches students with volunteer opportunities based on their interests, allows students to track their hours online, and receive verification from guidance counselors within their school.

Get Your Hours founder Christiane MacKenzie and faculty member Bernie Monette, Program Coordinator of the Website Development Program, began project development for Get Your Hours in April 2013 after receiving a Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation (CONII) grant. Their challenge was to create an online tool that could be used as a central resource for school boards looking to track and verify students’ volunteer work, as well as help students find more meaningful volunteer opportunities in their community.

Students in the Website Development Program at Humber were hired to design the back end of the platform under the supervision of Bernie Monette. After months of development, networking, and partnerships, the site is being pilot-tested in schools across the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board.

Get Your Hours hopes to be ready to hard launch across the province in January 2014.

On Monday, a bomb threat was made against Humber College’s North Campus. Toronto Police Services were immediately notified and, as a result of the threat, the North Campus was temporarily evacuated. College search procedures were activated with no threat identified. In consultation with Toronto Police, Humber lifted the evacuation after 25 minutes and all employees and students were able to safely re-enter the campus.

Toronto Police are continuing to investigate the source of the threat.

Humber values the safety and security of its community members above all else. We will review this incident to ensure our emergency response procedures continue to be ready for these kinds of situations.

Safety is now in your hands!

The Department of Public Safety has released the Humber Guardian app for Apple and Android smartphones. (Blackberry coming soon!)

The Guardian is designed for Humber students, staff and faculty and provides quick access to campus safety and security resources, emergency contact information, safety services and a safety toolbox.

The Guardian primary features include:

• One touch calling to Humber Security & Emergency Services
• A personal emergency alarm
• Quick-access flashlight
• Ability to email questions, comments & photos to Public Safety
• Campus maps and searchable navigation
• Access to Public Transit contact and route information servicing Humber College
• Overviews and contact information for Humber's student support resources provided by Humber Student Federation, Counselling, and Disability Services
• Contact information for off-campus support resources including the Toronto Distress Centre, Crime Stoppers, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
• Access to and contact information for Humber's safety programs and services
• Emergency Preparedness guides

Search "Humber Guardian" in your app store and download today!