Western announced an ambitious campaign on Friday, setting out to raise $1 billion through alumni donations. More than a half the money has already been raised, with the university detailing $90 million worth of projects that’ve already received funding. “Western is a very confident community that has the resources, the people and the talent to make Canada a better place, to make the world a better place. And so, we’re calling our community together to get after it,” said David Simmonds, the campaign’s co-chair. The campaign is currently supporting local and national research projects, scholarships and thriving initiatives. Simmonds said the campaign will help at a “time that can be scary for a lot of people. There’s a lot of tight knocks around us.” According to Simmonds, the campaign will benefit London through more research and campus growth. “The more productive we are as an institution, the more research we do, the more lives we change, the more people choose London, whether that’s for economic investment, for cultural and arts investment, or to raise their families.” Another goal of the campaign is for alumni to make 1.5 million meaningful interactions with the community, as Simmonds says the greatest strength at Western are the people. - With files from CTV London’s Carlyle Fiset
