At this rate, CBC comedian Rick Mercer will one day have a wing of Simon Fraser University named after him.
The popular host was at SFU’s Burnaby campus last September to launch his nation-wide Spread the Net campaign to raise money for mosquito nets in Africa.
And he returned to the school Monday to announce that SFU raised $16,000 during the six-month campaign – more than any other school in Canada.
“We took a page out of Stephen Harper’s book and pitted a region of Canada against another region of Canada,” the Mercer Report star told hundreds of students over the made-for-TV cheers. “Congratulations to SFU, you won the gold medal!”
The real winners are children in Liberia and Rawanda, according to SFU professor Carl Lowenberger, who has been forever dunned “Professor Mosquito” since his appearance on Mercer’s show last year.
He told 24 hours effective long-term medical treatment for childhood malaria is still a decade out.
“You and I can go for two weeks [and be vaccinated] and it’s not a problem, but it doesn’t work for the residents there,” he said. “Until then, this is the best way to reduce childhood malaria.”
The UNICEF SFU Club played a major role in fundraising and member Balraj Mattu was proud of the way the school came together.
“We had one UNICEF club member who is a waitress and she got everybody to donate their tips, so that was pretty remarkable,” Mattu said. “[The nets] are so inexpensive and yet have such a large impact.”
