"McGill’s annual day of giving, McGill24, rallies McGillians worldwide to support the university cause closest to their hearts. Regional alumni groups usually use this occasion to gather in person, but the pandemic lockdown prevented several groups from doing so in March 2021. Instead, the alumni relations team staged a special virtual event that would hearken back to our constituents’ campus experience by drawing on one of the most nostalgic, iconic, and delicious Montreal symbols: bagels!
We recruited McGill’s Executive Chef Oliver de Volpi to demonstrate how to make Montreal-style bagels from the comfort of your home. Registrants were provided with the full list of ingredients in advance, so all they had to do was tune in and follow the step-by-step directions of the very charismatic chef.
Although bagels were the star of the show for McGill’s day of giving, the event helped to shine the spotlight on McGill’s sustainability initiatives--an area to which alumni were invited to donate. Our western campus is home to the Faculty of Agricultural & Environmental Studies, complete with an active farm. Chef de Volpi sources much of our dining services food from the campus farm, including 75% of all eggs used throughout the year.
The virtual event was a hit, drawing 279 attendees by tapping into the nostalgia of our alumni, conveying an educational element on McGill’s sustainability efforts, and inviting philanthropic support for McGill by transporting them back to Montreal and reminding them of fond memories spent on campus!"
From the Judges
What a wonderful way to pull guests together to make something that they love!
