Media releases

• Students aim to make positive local impact through Brock Cares Day of Service

  Wednesday, September 04, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 4 September 2019 – R00141

  Brock students will fan out across Niagara Saturday to give back to the community they now call home.

  Along with University staff and faculty members, nearly 200 students will spend Saturday, Sept. 7 volunteering at local organizations in need of a helping hand.

  The 11th annual Brock Cares Day of Service will help students kick off the semester by having a positive impact and allowing them to meet others who share a similar passion for volunteering.

  “Participating in Brock Cares is a great way for students to start the year by giving back and making connections with their peers, while also learning about and becoming a part of the Niagara community,” said Megan Brown, Brock’s Community Engagement Co-ordinator.

  With volunteers heading to Project Share, Niagara Children’s Centre, Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre, the YWCA, Clean City Committee, Community Care, Celebration of Nations, the Rankin Cancer Run Bottle Drive, the Niagara Catholic District School Board Outdoor Education Program, Small Scale Farms and the Days for Girls initiative, Brown said the day reflects the University’s ongoing commitment to the region.

  “It’s important because Brock is part of the community and this is one of the many ways we can show that we care,” she said. “We are doing our part to be fully involved in Niagara while helping to grow the next generation of passionate and engaged citizens.”

  This year’s team of volunteers will also participate in the University’s annual Welcome Wagon visits, which aim to help student tenants be good neighbours and have a positive experience in the community. The initiative will see student volunteers joined by University staff and community partners, including elected officials, bylaw officers and firefighters, going door-to-door in near-campus neighbourhoods to deliver welcome kits and information on topics and services related to living off-campus.

  When Brock Cares has wrapped up for the day, volunteers will be taken to the Pen Centre where they will join residents and other students at a complimentary barbecue from noon to 3 p.m. Held in partnership with the City of St Catharines Town and Gown Committee, the Pen Centre, Zehrs and the University, the Community BBQ aims to further efforts to build relationships between the student population and local citizens in hopes of creating a vibrant, safe and respectful community.

  Following Brock Cares, students will have a chance to learn about additional volunteer activities in the region at VolunteerFest on Thursday, Sept. 12. The on-campus, vendor-style event will run in Brock’s Market Hall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and feature nearly 50 local organizations looking for volunteers.

  Spaces for Brock Cares are filling quickly, but Brown hopes more students will embrace the chance to lend a helping hand through various volunteer opportunities.

  “Brock Cares is often the first chance our students have to see other parts of Niagara, but we know that after working with such great organizations and seeing the difference that their contributions make, it won’t be the last,” she said.

  Volunteers will meet in South Block 204 at 8 a.m. Registration can be completed on the ExperienceBU website. Walk-in participants are also welcome.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases

• New Brock institute to support economic growth in Niagara

  Tuesday, September 03, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 3 September 2019 – R00140

  A $5-million investment by the federal government will allow Brock University to create a landmark facility aimed at making Niagara a research and innovation leader in bioagriculture, bioscience and chemical manufacturing sectors.

  The FedDev funding through the Community Economic Development and Diversification stream was announced Tuesday, Sept. 3 by Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey and St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle.

  The funding means Brock can now launch the Brock-Niagara Validating, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute (VPMI) which will enable area businesses to access the University’s researchers, expertise and advanced technology. The new centre will be housed in a $6.1-million expansion of Brock’s Mackenzie Chown Complex, which is expected to open in 2021.

  Brock University President Gervan Fearon said the visionary facility will make the Niagara community a Canadian leader in university-engaged collaborative research and innovation that enhances advances and the competitiveness of the manufacturing and agri-food sectors.

  “We are grateful for the Government of Canada supporting this strategic initiative that helps to build the regional economic cluster of the Niagara region and supports the competitiveness of industry across Canada,” said Fearon. “The VPMI will support applied research and development, innovation and commercialization efforts to help businesses grow and thrive. It will play an important role in Brock University’s strategic priority to partner with business and communities in supporting the prosperity and vitality of the Niagara region and beyond.”

  The VPMI will be comprised of three main components: research and innovation; testing and prototyping; and training. It will expand on existing partnerships created through Brock’s Advanced Biomanufacturing Centre (ABC), Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) and the BrockLINC.

  The VPMI will give businesses access to state-of-the-art analytical, prototyping and early-stage

  manufacturing tools, as well as to expertise and training, to help expand and tackle new markets. It will provide the bioproduct, bioagriculture, bioscience and chemical manufacturing sectors with a single-site solution to improve or launch products and new processes.

  “This will enhance industrial-academia partnerships by providing businesses with the capacity to fully design, study and characterize both biological and chemical systems while working with the related expertise at Brock University,” said Tim Kenyon, Vice-President, Research at Brock.

  The VPMI will work with a wide range of companies in Niagara and across southern Ontario in sectors such as wine production, cannabis, food-based products, health care, medicines and nutritional supplements, and chemical companies that produce polymers and resins used in manufacturing.

  Badawey said he was thrilled to see “Brock University taking measures to enhance research, innovation and the economy,” through the new VPMI.

  “This new facility will grow the region’s economy by creating more jobs, strengthen the relationship with various organizations and continue to highlight the importance of industrial-academia partnerships,” he said. “Brock’s initiative presents an innovative way to ensure our region is provided with the opportunity to participate in the competitive market.”

  Bittle agreed, saying the new facility would “ensure we keep pushing the boundaries to benefit the Niagara economy.”

  “Our region continues to join forces and collaborate with our post-secondary institutions to keep jobs and opportunities local,” he said. “In particular, the project announced today for Brock University is a perfect example of how this institution brings together expertise in biology and chemistry to uniquely tackle challenges.”

  Categories: Media releases