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Two Barcelona-area schools donate proceeds from their Christmas charity actions to the Institute for Research in Biomedicine.
The initiatives are a result of the campaign to raise awareness and funding that began with the launch of the IRB Barcelona dance video in October.
The primary school Mestre Gibert at Sant Andreu has presented IRB with a cheque for the funds they raised at their annual Solidarity Day, held on Saturday, 22 November, and promoted by the parents association. The ceremony took place during the school's Christmas concert, which took place at the Sant Pacià church in the Sant Andreu neighbourhood of the city.
Accepting the cheque on behalf of IRB were PhD student Begoña Cánovas, Roberto Bartolomé and Jesús Sánchez, from IRB's Information Technology Service department. “It is very gratifying to share our knowledge with schools because it gives kids a chance to get close to real science. It helps them appreciate research and see how useful it is," says Begoña Cánovas from IRB's Oncology Programme, who led one the workshops for pupils ranging in age from 3 to 10 years during the Solidarity Day activities. “One of the aims of our Solidarity Party is that, besides having fun, the kids learn about the work of the organization we have chosen to support. The IRB Barcelona workshops were a great opportunity for our students to get closer to science through educational and entertaining activities”, remarks Laura Gorbe, member of the Mestre Gibert school parents association.
IRB Barcelona director, Joan Guinovart, who also participated in the Day by giving a talk for parents on diabetes, explains that the IRB Barcelona dance video and the campaign to raise awareness and funding has opened the door to a wide range of new and exciting interactions with society. "It's simply fantastic that two schools already have chosen IRB to receive the proceeds of their Christmas collections," says Guinovart. "It shows kids that scientific research is a valid and important activity which they can help support, which is a great lesson. We are very grateful to these schools who are spreading awareness about science among their students."
In a separate initiative, the Zürich Schule will donate the proceeds of its annual Christmas Market to research at IRB Barcelona. To thank them, researchers from the institute will pay a visit to the school during 2015 and organize a scientific workshop.
Visit Mestre Gibert School website.
See the photographs of the Solidarity Day at IRB Barcelona Facebook.
Visit Zurich Schule website.
About IRB Barcelona
The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) pursues a society free of disease. To this end, it conducts multidisciplinary research of excellence to cure cancer and other diseases linked to ageing. It establishes technology transfer agreements with the pharmaceutical industry and major hospitals to bring research results closer to society, and organises a range of science outreach activities to engage the public in an open dialogue. IRB Barcelona is an international centre that hosts 400 researchers and more than 30 nationalities. Recognised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence since 2011, IRB Barcelona is a CERCA centre and member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).
