CANFAR Clubs is a national peer-to-peer program aimed at fostering the next generation of young leaders in activism, volunteerism and philanthropy to promote HIV education and awareness on university and college campuses.
Over the last 15 years, hundreds of university and college students have shown extraordinary leadership and dedication to ending the HIV epidemic in Canada by forming and leading a CANFAR Club on their university or college campus.
Today, young people remain one of the most vulnerable demographics in the HIV epidemic.
CANFAR Clubs help our Foundation reach thousands of young Canadians to spread our message of prevention and awareness, all while raising funds to support innovative research. CANFAR Clubs are a critical national effort to educate Canadian students about HIV/AIDS through various fundraising and awareness initiatives.
If you are interested in starting a CANFAR Club or have questions about this program, please contact us.
2019-2020 CANFAR Clubs
Current Co-Presidents
Lauren Manning – Bio coming soon!
Taylor Wilson – Bio coming soon!
Current Co-Presidents
Paula Munroe is currently a fourth year student at Dalhousie University and has been involved with CANFAR since her second year. She is passionate about spreading awareness of HIV and AIDS research across campus and amongst her peers. As a co-president this year, she hopes to promote CANFAR initiatives to even more Dalhousie students through various events and fundraisers.
Outside of CANFAR, Paula is pursuing a major in Law, Justice and Society and a minor in Political Science. She is also involved in the Dalhousie Law, Justice and Society Students Association and Dalhousie Real Estate Society. She plans to graduate in May 2020.
Kennedy Whelan – Bio coming soon!
Manny Keay – Bio coming soon!
Current Co-Presidents
Hello! My name is Gar-Way Ma, and I am a fourth year Bachelor of Health Sciences student at McMaster University. I first joined CANFAR McMaster 2 years ago, where I was responsible for our promotional and marketing efforts. Since then, I have been in charge of our funding and finances, and have now assumed the Co-President role of the club.
I was motivated to join CANFAR for a variety of reasons. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I had an intrinsic desire to learn more about HIV/AIDS, which has disproportionally affected this group. Despite advances in prevention and treatment, stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS continues to be rampant, with a plethora of myths and misconceptions still being perpetuated. Advances in treatment has also meant that HIV/AIDS prevention is no longer taken as seriously as it once was. With all these factors combined, I wanted to join CANFAR and help with efforts towards not only fundraising for HIV/AIDS research, but to help spread awareness and tackle stigma. I am excited for the year ahead and can’t wait to see what all the CANFAR groups achieve next!
Krishihan Sivapragasam – Bio coming soon!
Current President
My name is Michal Shaposhnikov and I am a fourth year Pharmacology specialization student at the University of Alberta. I have been involved with CANFAR since my first year at the university as a general volunteer and I am excited to take on the role of president for the 2019/2020 year at The University of Alberta. As I am currently working towards and academic research career in my future, I aspire to personally contribute to HIV/AIDS research in order to improve current HIV treatments aid the search for novel therapies.
I believe CANFAR is a vital organization at The University of Alberta as it provides a supportive community for many, as well as brings forward an informed network system regarding the topic of HIV and AIDS. The foundation plays an extensive role in educating students and individuals of all ages about the virus, as well as strides towards removing the stigma linked to HIV.
As president, my main goals this year include spreading awareness about HIV and the CANFAR organisation on our campus, as well as develop the CANFAR presence even further here at The University of Alberta. With our amazing Executive team incorporating teamwork, information sessions, and several fun events into the daily lives of students – CANFAR is flourishing on a daily basis at the UAlberta campus. As we take on the year, we hope to make a difference and contribute further to the growth of CANFAR and help find a cure for HIV.
Current President
My name is Emily Yeung, and I am a fourth year Biology major and Statistics minor at UBC. Currently, my goal is to get accepted into UBC’s medical school. While grades are important, I also want to experience other facets of university life. Having been able to found and lead the CANFAR Club at UBC in 2018 gave me the perfect opportunity to both be part of a unique community on campus, and work with the medicine-related topics I so dearly love.
I first became interested in starting a CANFAR Club because of CANFAR’s significant contributions to HIV/AIDS research. After hearing that ART treatments result in undetectable viral loads, I’m optimistic that a cure for HIV/AIDS will be discovered. I would love to contribute in any way to this quest—whilst learning in the process—by establishing a CANFAR Club at UBC. Moreover, issues surrounding HIV/AIDS intersect with topics outside of medical research, such as stigma against HIV-susceptible groups. Therefore, I want to lead a CANFAR Club because it will not only help support HIV/AIDS research, but also raise awareness for HIV/AIDS-related issues experienced by marginalized groups.
President
Jenna Gallo – Bio coming soon!
Interested in starting a CANFAR Club at your school?
CANFAR is always looking to expand our network of university and college clubs across the country. We accept new applications on a rolling basis each year. If you are interested in starting a CANFAR Club at your school, please fill out the application below:
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2018-2019 CANFAR Clubs
2018-2019 Co-Presidents
My name is Lauren Hemphill and I am one of the CANFAR Acadia University co-presidents for the 2018-2019 academic year! I am a 4th year biology major with an emphasis on Health Sciences at Acadia University. I am extremely excited to be a club president for CANFAR this year, as this cause is very close to my heart because of the relatively recent passing of a close family friend due to AIDS. For this and many other reasons, I am so proud to be a part of this wonderful Foundation, and I hope we can continue raising awareness within the community, as well as do our part in supporting the ongoing research with HIV/AIDS. I look forward to continuing my involvement in CANFAR and pursuing a career in health sciences.
Maggie Jones – (bio coming soon!)
2018-2019 Co-Presidents
Marie Boyd is currently in her fourth year of studies at Dalhousie University, majoring in Microbiology and Immunology, with plans to graduate in the spring of 2019. Going into her second year as co-president of CANFAR Dalhousie, she is eager to raise awareness and funds on the Dalhousie campus and Halifax community. She first became aware of CANFAR through mutual friends and learned about the impact of HIV and AIDS through her courses, which furthered her interest in joining CANFAR. This year she looks forward to giving out free coffee on World AIDS Day, organizing various bake sales around campus, and primarily the Red Party. Marie is determined to carry on CANFAR Dalhousie’s longstanding success with the Red Party, maintain valuable relationships with local companies, and continue pursuing CANFAR’s goals of increasing awareness and funds for HIV research. After university, Marie is looking forward to a career in research, but in the meantime she is enjoying her last year at Dalhousie, making the most of school and friends.
Marlo Hayden-Luck is entering her fourth year at Dalhousie University with plans to graduate in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, majoring in International Business and Marketing. Marlo is passionate about leaving a positive mark on Dalhousie’s student community and is always working hard to encourage her peers to do the same. It is for these reasons and so many more that makes her so excited and extremely optimistic about what being the co-president of Dalhousie’s CANFAR club this year will bring.
There are so many opportunities to fundraise and raise awareness about everything that CANFAR does and this year, the Dalhousie Chapter is excited to do exactly that. Marlo plans to leverage her social media and digital marketing knowledge to reach as many people as possible within the Dalhousie community as well as in the city of Halifax as a whole. Using social media as a tool to expand their chapter’s reach will be one of their most powerful tools to raise awareness, and Marlo is well equipped for the job.
“This is going to be a great year for CANFAR and I’m so honoured to be a part of it and make a positive impact,” says Marlo.
2018-2019 Co-Presidents
Sydney Johnson is entering her third year as part of CANFAR McMaster and she is looking forward to her new role as co-president. In the upcoming year, she will be helping to organize fundraising and awareness events, such as the annual “World AIDS Day Coffeehouse,” featuring performers from across Hamilton. Sydney is in her fourth year in Molecular Biology and Genetics, and is looking forward to a career in health care upon graduation. Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys being outdoors and living an active lifestyle, as well as hanging out with friends and family. Sydney is looking forward to a fantastic year connecting with members of the McMaster community and continuing to support the mission of CANFAR.
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Justin Lu is now entering his third year in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program and has been invovled with CANFAR McMaster since he started his undergraduate studies. He has thoroughly enjoyed working with CANFAR because it has exposed him to a group of students on campus that shares a similar interest in health advocacy. His favourite event has been the Hallowheel of Fortune, where students spin a wheel, learn about interesting HIV-related facts and win prizes. Outside of his academic pursuits, he enjoys playing basketball, watching movies and loves to travel.
2018-2019 President
My name is Jannatul Mustofa and I am a third year Psychology major, Nutrition minor at the University of Alberta. I have been with CANFAR UAlberta since my first year, starting off as VP Fundraiser. For the past year and presently, I am the President of the Club. To me, CANFAR is an important organization because it brings out awareness about a topic that isn’t talked about enough.
My goal as a President is to promote our organization both to our campus community as well as in the City of Edmonton. I believe it is very important to make ourselves well-known and I commit to the task of helping us remove the stigma and raise awareness about HIV and AIDS to the greater public.
What I am striving to do is allow for both the executive team as well as general volunteers to each have a role in this important task. I have the idea of holding informational sessions around campus in the form of booths (in SUB for example) and in the form of seminars. Another way we could promote our cause is to visit high schools to deliver educational speeches to students. This will better inform our young community about HIV and AIDS, as I believe it is a topic that is rather taboo among their age group, when it shouldn’t be. I love being active in the community and enjoy working for this cause!
2018-2019 President
My name is Emily Yeung and I am a third year Biology major at UBC. Currently, my goal is to get accepted into UBC’s medical school. While grades are important, I also want to experience other facets of university life. Being able to found and lead the CANFAR Club at UBC this year gave me the perfect opportunity to both be part of a unique community on campus, and work with the medicine-related topics I so dearly love.
I first became interested in starting a CANFAR Club because of CANFAR’s significant contributions to HIV/AIDS research. After hearing that ART treatments result in undetectable viral loads, I’m optimistic that a cure for HIV/AIDS will be discovered.
I would love to contribute in any way to this quest—whilst learning in the process—by establishing a CANFAR Club at UBC. Moreover, issues surrounding HIV/AIDS intersect with topics outside of medical research, such as stigma against HIV-susceptible groups. Therefore, I want to lead a CANFAR Club because it will not only help support HIV/AIDS research, but also raise awareness for social issues experienced by marginalized groups.
2018-2019 President
Jonathan Burnie
2018-2019 President
Nick Chang
