University of Alberta Bridges to Prosperity Chapter 2018
Bridges to Prosperity provides access to essential health care,
education, and economic opportunities to isolated communities by building
footbridges over impassable rivers. In order to do this, Bridges to Prosperity
focuses on three key fundamentals. To Innovate. To Inspire. To Educate.
Not only do we build long-lasting footbridges to help locals, we work with the
communities during construction so they are prepared to maintain and repair
the bridge on their own.
“We build too many walls and not enough bridges.”
-Isaac Newton
Our Chapter
We are a new student group at the University of Alberta and are a chapter of the international organization Bridges to Prosperity. As engineering students, we come from multiple disciplines that have been working very hard the last few years to get where we are now. Our long term goal has been to lead our first complete bridge project in the summer of 2018 which would include designing, funding and building of a footbridge in a developing country. After our successful Tag-Along project to Chillcani, Bolivia with the University of Toronto in 2017, we have finally been awarded a complete bridge build. This project requires our student group to fund raise for engineering advisers to come along on the trip and contributing over $20,000 for bridge construction materials and other expenses related to the project.
Here's a link to check out our CBC Radio interview and an article that was written about our chapter and this year's project! http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/university-alberta-bridges-prosperity-georgia-dunn-1.4554479
Where
So far, Bridges to Prosperity has worked in 20 countries around the world and been involved in the construction of over 200 footbridges. Our focus is in developing nations where infrastructure in rural areas and villages is lacking or non-existent. For the University of Alberta's first bridge building project, we are heading to Tholamarca, Bolivia, an agricultural community located in the southwest area of the Cochabamba region! Tholamarca serves as a home for approximately 75 families including 30 children. The small community is at an impressive elevation of almost 4000 m and is 2 hours away from any major city. There is currently no bridge across the river and it is impassable from December to March when it floods to dangerous levels. The new bridge will span a remarkable distance of 49.2 m over the river!
When
Our trip will begin in early May in order to arrive in Tholamarca for the critical portion of the bridge build. Our students will be in Bolivia for approximately 4 weeks, the majority of this time spent on site. This leaves us a limited amount of time to plan and design the bridge and prepare for the trip. We are very committed to contributing to the full success of this project and to providing the maximum amount of aide we can to the community.
Why we need your help
Building bridges are huge feats and extremely expensive, especially for beginning university student groups. Not only are we in charge of building the bridge, but we are also involved in training locals to help us with the build and for future maintenance. Tens of thousands of dollars is typically required to build a footbridge, not to mention the amount of volunteer time that is needed. Being students, this much money is very difficult to obtain; that's a lot of cookies in a bake sale! That is why we are reaching out to people like you to lend a hand and help us create a difference. We are in charge of providing approximately $19,500 to aid with the cost of the materials and labour of the bridge and our medical and living equipment costs.This does not include the cost of flights, travel accommodations and transportation for our members on the trip. We are also responsible for sending bridge corp members with our students that are engineers with expertise in structural design.
Goal Reached
Published on Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018 at 09:03 PM (MST)
Get your champagne bottles ready because we hit our goal!! But don't worry, we still have over a week left so donations are still being accepted! We have a ways to go before our full project is funded!
Mabel Smith
Georgia Dunn
Mitchell Trollip
Travis Strochinski
Yuelin Qiu
Aly Valji
Rochelle De Omania
David Gibbs
Mayeesa Shamiha
Noah Makar
Spencer Vandermeer
Michael Manarin
Pablo Cano
Dimple Ji
Chelsea Maier
Akram Zain
Danny Romero
Greg Dunn
Gave $50.00
Melanie Hofstetter
Gave $100.00
Melanie Hofstetter
Gave $100.00
Ann Parker
Gave $50.00
Rachelle Kearl
Gave $100.00
Debbie Fennig
Gave $100.00
Prana Yoga Studio
Gave $370.00
Sandra Gibbs
Gave $100.00
Teresa McEachern
Gave $50.00
Eva Humphreys
Gave $100.00
Salma Colless
Gave $100.00
Jeannie Watson
Gave $50.00
Grant Watson
Gave $50.00
Cherry Cardwell
Gave $50.00
Linda McEachern
Gave $100.00
Tia Feichtinger
Gave $100.00
EPSILON CHEMICALS
Gave $500.00
Ronson Li
Gave $50.00
Yvette Casavant
Gave $50.00
Maxine McEachern
Gave $20.00
Tracy Zhang
Gave $100.00
Johnny Mak
Gave $20.00
Peter Dunn
Gave $16.00
Jeffrey Proctor
Gave $200.00
Cristian Cano
Gave $200.00
Dan and Jacqueline Vandermeer
Gave $250.00
Dan and Jacqueline Vandermeer
Gave $250.00
Zayed Almansoori
Gave $30.00
Mike Siebert
Gave $30.00
Sean Brown
Gave $50.00
Dale & Shelly Easton
Gave $50.00
Ben Tungland
Gave $500.00
Tracey Minnikin
Gave $50.00
Shairose Valji
Gave $500.00
Stacey Mack
Gave $200.00
Lila Nghiem
Gave $20.00
Wendy Mitchell
Gave $200.00
Colette Spackman
Gave $50.00
Paul Dunn
Gave $100.00
Suzanne Maier
Gave $50.00
Brenda Pierson
Gave $100.00
Dave Duncan
Gave $200.00
Sarah-Jane Blomfield
Gave $50.00
Micheline Dunn
Gave $30.00
Laurel Takats
Gave $50.00
Alexandra Dunn
Gave $20.00
Tania Easton
Gave $50.00
Ron and Jen Lechelt
Gave $50.00
Hannah Bradford
Gave $20.00
ROSIE ROOT
Gave $50.00
Victoria Urmetzer
Gave $20.00
Craig Nyboer
Gave $100.00
Michele Merrill
Gave $30.00
Cheryl Walters
Gave $100.00
Brian Thompson
Gave $50.00
Michael Pierson
Gave $50.00
Writick Das
Gave $14.00
Wayne & Sharon Strochinski
Gave $500.00
Randall & Jamie Breitkreitz
Gave $200.00
Safa Masajedian
Gave $20.00
Csthy Newton
Gave $100.00
Emily Dacko
Gave $100.00
Daren Wong
Gave $10.00
Evan Braun
Gave $50.00
Dominion Lending Centres Key Financial
Gave $50.00
Parker Vandermeer
Gave $10.00
Andrew Dunn
Gave $30.00
Jordan Pierson
Gave $20.00
Myrna Strate
Gave $200.00
Kris Clement
Gave $100.00
Janine Woo
Gave $50.00
Terri Rolfson
Gave $50.00
Meredith Stadnyk
Gave $50.00
Tony Te
Gave $20.00
Dorothy Smith
Gave $100.00
Xue Jun Ji
Gave $200.00
Hunter Duchscherer
Gave $25.00
Tim Dizon
Gave $150.00
Helen Emeny
Gave $50.00
David Nicholls
Gave $50.00
Cheryl Omoe
Gave $100.00
Jannelle Meredith
Gave $50.00
Gregory Slowski
Gave $40.00
Brev Chesky
Gave $20.00
Shelagh Wildsmith
Gave $30.00
Anna Campbell
Gave $20.00
David Higham
Gave $50.00
Peter Smith
Gave $200.00
Corey Mireault
Gave $500.00
ALLISON BRENNAN
Gave $50.00
Brad Maier
Gave $100.00
Edward Morrison
Gave $125.00
Sarah Ames
Gave $20.00
Shelley Smith
Gave $100.00
Jennifer Kwasney
Gave $50.00
Bianca Angotti
Gave $10.00
Daryn Humble
Gave $100.00
Cynthia Cano
Gave $100.00
Julian Firsow
Gave $20.00
Izzy Abrre
Gave $50.00
Peter Dunn
Gave $300.00
Anne Marie Dunn
Gave $200.00
27 supporters have chosen not to be listed for "University of Alberta Bridges to Prosperity Chapter 2018".
Make an Impact
Five Deck Screws
Give $5
Deck screws are used to connect the wooden deck boards together. By donating just $5 you can be the connection between us and our goal!
10kg of Tying Wire
Give $10
$10 will allow us to purchase tying wire used to connect and hold the fencing in place. Your donation will really help tie up some lose ends.
7m of Safety Fencing
Give $20
Your gift of $20 will allow us to purchase safety fencing that will be installed on either side of the bridge. Now go click that donate button! No being on the fence about it.
5 Suspenders
Give $30
Suspenders are what hold the cables together to keep the bridge stable. With your $30 we can buy 5 of them! The suspense is killing us.
40kg of Cement
Give $50
Cement will serve as the foundation for the bridge. By donating $50 you can become the foundation for our project!
10x9m Lengths of Rebar
Give $100
Rebar helps strengthen the concrete in the bridge and with this donation you can strengthen the success of the project!
22m of Cable
Give $200
Cables are a vital component of the suspended cable bridge we are building. By donating $200 you could become the vital component of our project! To thank you, you will receive a personalized video shout out by the B2P team! Now that's something money can't buy.
Bronze Sponsor
Give $500
A gift of this amount will help pay for almost all the dump trucks needed to get our supplies on site. As a thank you, you will receive all the benefits of a Bronze sponsor including company logo (if you are a company) on all our social media platforms, and a printed picture of the bridge. On top of this, you will receive a thank you card signed by the B2P team! That's almost worth the $500 alone!
Silver Sponsor
Give $1,000
A gift of this amount covers all of the wood costs for the entire bridge! Wood you believe it? As a thank you for your generosity, you will receive all the benefits of a Silver sponsor which include a print picture of the bridge and your company logo on all of our social media platforms, our team t-shirts and our bridge banner. On top of this, you will also receive a thank you card signed by the B2P team!
