Pandemic won’t stop annual charity event celebrating medical educators

Though the COVID-19 pandemic may have made their job a bit more difficult, organizers of the 13th annual Affair of the Heart are pressing forward, moving the Nov. 28 event entirely online.

Second-year MD student Ryerson Seguin, one of two returning members of the event’s executive committee, said the team felt it was important despite the pandemic to move forward with the event as a way to give back to the community as well as the teachers, mentors and preceptors who have helped them along the way.

“One of the quirks I’ve found in the Edmonton medical community is this culture of ‘pay it forward,’” Seguin said. “I think Affair of the Heart is not only a great way to pay it forward to charity and future classmates, especially if we get them involved, but also to those who have set aside so much time to help us become who we can be as physicians.”

Affair of the Heart is a fundraising event and celebration of medical educators organized each year by Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry MD students. Over the past 13 years, the event has raised tens of thousands of dollars for causes such as the Edmonton Down Syndrome Society, Basically Babies, Little Warriors, Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and Crystal Kids. This year’s goal is $15,000, which will go to the Rainbow Society of Alberta, a children’s charity that grants wishes for children in Alberta who have life-threatening conditions or severe chronic illnesses.

The event also includes an awards ceremony honouring medical educators as voted on by medical students, as well as a silent auction and prize draw, all to be done online this year.

Organizers had considered postponing the event, in the hopes that in-person gatherings would be allowed in the new year, but ended up deciding to move it online. Because of the financial impact of the pandemic on many businesses, the team had to work much harder than usual to find sponsors and potential donors. Between July and August, they contacted more businesses than they did in all of last year, Seguin said.

Overcoming the challenges of this year was a group effort, he added, something he hopes to see continue in future years.

“This was definitely not a one-person show,” he said. “We’ve been very fortunate to have support from the Undergraduate Medical Education office, the Office of Advocacy and Wellbeing, the Medical Students Association, our sponsors, donors and, of course, the entire executive team. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of those groups.”

Affair of the Heart

Awards ceremony
Date: Nov. 28
Time: 6 p.m.
Website: www.affairoftheheart2020.com

Silent auction
Date: Nov. 18 - 28
Time: Closes Nov. 28 at 8:30 p.m.
Website: givergy.ca/affairoftheheartauction