In late 2020, a push to address systemic racism in society and in healthcare was gaining momentum.
Protests over the racialized killing of a Black American man, George Floyd, and the death of Joyce Echaquan, an Indigenous woman from Quebec who faced systemic racism from health care providers, helped fuel the grassroots creation of the GNSS Black and Indigenous Student Award at Bloomberg Nursing.
The award, fully established in 2022, provides financial support to students entering the Master of Nursing program who have been deeply affected by racism, prejudice, injustice, and inequity.
Meagan Noble (MN 21), the president of the GNSS at the time, recalls how focused her executive team was in findings ways to raise the amount of money required – $50,000 for an endowed award- to make the fund sustainable and able to support students each year.
“As a graduate student, hearing that you need to raise $50,000 was daunting, but I don’t think any of us ever hesitated, which really speaks to the strength of our committee and the passion we had for reaching our goal,” says Noble.
Together the students, came up with some unique ways to raise money. In addition to asking for donations from their own communities and friends, they were hard at work drafting solicitation letters to Bloomberg Nursing alumni, hospitals, and healthcare organizations, as well as different student groups on campus with the support of the Bloomberg Nursing Advancement team.
They also, Noble says, looked to promote the fund at their inaugural Black Futures Speakers Series, where they received a lot of support from those in the nursing leadership community.
On U of T Giving Day which takes place March 26, Noble will be giving once again to the GNSS Black and Indigenous Student Award. Her donation will be matched on that day, doubling her impact. Though she is now a medical student, Noble says it is important to give back and contribute to the award she and the team started because every bit still does make a difference for the future of diverse leadership.
“If multiple people give a small amount, there is strength in numbers and it adds up, $5 a month or just $5 overall is how we were able to meet our goal to bring this award to fruition,” says Noble.
Early on in their fundraising, an anonymous donation of $15,000 helped create a sense of momentum and encouraged the students to reach $43,000 during their time in the MN program. Under the leadership of Ashley Ahuja (MN Clinical 23) and her GNSS executive team, the final $7,000 was raised to fully establish the award.
Asked about the importance of this type of an award for the nursing profession, Noble says that it is about recognizing the prevalence of homogeneity in the nursing profession and a subsequent need to take collective responsibility in support of diversity.
“This award supports the need for diverse voices in nursing leadership, including those who are marginalized or who have historically been excluded from a seat in leadership,” says Noble. “It’s been wonderful to see the continued support for this award and the change it has had in multiple student’s lives.”