Shad Western Supports Orbis Canada

Shad Western at London’s Western University is part of Shad Canada’s month-long program that brings together high school students from across the country to explore STEAM, entrepreneurship, and design thinking. This year’s national design challenge focused on making transportation more accessible.  

Shad Western launched its first-ever Charity Committee this summer, created and led by Orbis Future Vision Leader, Kareem Sadek, a second-year medical student at the University of Calgary and Program Director for Shad Western. Despite being the committee’s inaugural year, the student-led campaign was a resounding success. The group selected Orbis for its focus on training local eye care teams and building sustainable eye health systems. Together, they raised $8,638 to support Orbis’s mission to improve access to quality eye care around the world. 

Throughout July, Shad Western’s Charity Committee (co-led by Teacher Fellow, Miriam Lindsay) organized a series of friendly challenges and student-run events to raise funds. These included candy grams, a bake sale, and staff participation challenges, where staff agreed to do things like get waxed or eat hot peppers when a fundraising goal was met. On “Open Day”, ticket sales, on-site donations, and a silent auction brought in thousands more dollars as family and friends visited the Western University campus to learn more about what Shad participants had been doing throughout the program.    

Mid-month, Shad Western hosted a Vision Advocacy & Awareness Expo designed to educate and empower students. Orbis joined six partner organizations — CNIB, W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind, Canadian Council of the Blind, 20/20 Mission, Parkwood Institute, and Sensity Deafblind and Sensory Support Network of Canada — to run interactive booths and connect with students. A panel featuring individuals with lived experience of blindness or partial sight offered firsthand perspectives, followed by a case competition focused on practical accessibility solutions. The expo gave participants concrete insights into vision loss and advocacy, equipping them to carry those lessons into the charity campaign and their future careers. 

Orbis Future Vision Leaders, Billy Herspiegel and Salem Abu Al-Burak, played an active role at the expo, engaging and mentoring students throughout the day. Herspiegel reflected that “it not only supported a great cause but gave me the chance to guide high school youth in making a real difference,” and noted his mother’s experience in Nicaragua was a powerful reminder “that sight is not a privilege—it’s a right.” Al-Burak said the partnership “combined two things I care deeply about: vision care and empowering youth,” adding that participating reinforced his belief that “vision should never be a barrier to opportunity.” Their presence helped bridge professional insight with student action, reinforcing the expo’s aim to educate and empower the next generation of vision advocates. 

Both the fundraising elements and the awareness event were huge successes and showcased the ability of our Orbis Future Vision Leaders to inspire and educate.  

“We’re grateful to Kareem, the entire Shad Western team, our Orbis Future Vision Leaders, and all of the Shad members who participated in this initiative. We truly couldn’t do the work we do without the support of engaged donors and fundraisers like this,” says Orbis Canada Vice President, Alex Krievins. “Taking part in this event was hugely inspiring for our team, and it gave us the opportunity to meet and interact with the next generation of potential eye health leaders. We hope that those who participated will continue to work with us to help change the way the world sees.”