Yesterday, the EMBA McGill-HEC Montréal class of 2016, represented by Daleyne Guay, President of Brasserie NewDeal, delivered a cheque for $ 1,145 to the Montreal Community Loan Association (ACEM). It’s a small gesture that will make a big difference to the organization whose mission is to fight poverty and exclusion through an innovative approach: community credit. ACEM provides accessible credit and technical support to individuals living on a low income and to organizations that do not have access to traditional forms of credit for the start up or expansion of their community or business projects.

This money was raised in a very special way: “late-fees”. Attendance and punctuality are mandatory in the EMBA McGill-HEC Montréal, because every minute missed by a participant, means a lost learning opportunity for both the late participant and his or her classmates as they can’t learn from him/her when he/she isn’t in class. Therefore, from day one, participants agreed on a way to discourage each other from being late for class: a financial contribution. At the end of the school year, the class chooses a charity to which they give the money.

This year’s cohort has decided to give the amount raised to ACEM because they were very moved by Indu Krishnamurthy’s presentation in class. Indu is a Project Coordinator at ACEM. She graduated from the EMBA McGill-HEC Montréal in 2015 and came to class during the Sustainability Challenge module for a session on Engaging Stakeholders to Address Poverty at the Bottom of the Pyramid. She thanks every participant of the 2016 EMBA class for thinking of ACEM and making this donation.

ACEM-daleyne-guay

The ACEM team with Daleyne Guay and Michel Filion