Longstanding Sheridan and Brampton partnership stronger than ever amid pandemic

Sheridan opened its doors in Brampton 54 years ago, quickly becoming a pillar of the culture-rich and vibrant community. A budding partnership between the college and city of Brampton was born, and Sheridan has been devoted to serving the community ever since.

“We understand the importance of nurturing and empowering our campus communities,” says Dr. Janet Morrison, Sheridan’s President and Vice Chancellor. “The longstanding partnership between Sheridan and Brampton has fuelled incredible growth, community collaboration and meaningful innovation, while equipping students with the necessary skills to thrive both professionally and personally.” 

With a mission to cultivate safe, healthy and inclusive communities as outlined in its strategic plan, Sheridan is a signatory to Peel Region’s Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan and continues to champion growth and innovation within Brampton. 
The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed emphasis on wellness, inclusivity and community outreach – all of which are embedded deep within the fabric of Sheridan. See how Sheridan is contributing to the Brampton community below.

#SheridanHelps community outreach

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countless Sheridan students, employees and alumni lent their support to various areas of need through the #SheridanHelps initiative. Employees volunteered at Sheridan’s Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Design Technologies (CAMDT) in Brampton to use 3D printers, lasers and waterjet-cutting machines to create reusable, medical-grade face shields for donation to local hospitals and long-term care homes. 
Approximately $52,000 worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) – including several thousand pairs of gloves, hundreds of masks and gowns, face shields, safety glasses and sanitizers – from Sheridan's Faculty of Applied Health and Community Studies and Faculty of Applied Science and Technology programs in Brampton was donated to Trillium Health Partners and William Ostler Health System for distribution to front-line workers. Learn more about Sheridan’s outreach activities connected to COVID-19.

COVID-19 CommUNITY vaccine clinic

Sheridan teamed up with Indus Community Services, Punjabi Community Health Services, the Latin-American COVID-19 Task Force, the Government of Ontario, and Region of Peel Public Health to host several COVID-19 vaccination clinics at Sheridan’s Davis Campus in Brampton from May – July 2021, targeting the hard-hit areas surrounding the Davis campus. More than 35,000 vaccinations were administered upon the last pop-up clinic’s closing, making the initiative a remarkable success. 

Following the close of the first dose clinic in mid-June, data from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences showed that L6Y – the targeted postal code — had achieved the highest percentage vaccine uptake in the entire Region of Peel. Dr. Lawrence Loh, Medical Officer of Health, Region of Peel Public Health, remarked “it’s safe to say the Sheridan CommUNITY clinic played an important part in achieving these stats, along with everyone’s efforts to reach the community.”

With the aim of reaching under-vaccinated communities, the clinic was designed to be welcoming and barrier-free, making vaccinations more accessible to the surrounding community within Peel. Throughout its operations, organizers engaged directly with local community members, connecting them to the clinic and volunteering to provide non-clinical support on site.

Alumni on the frontlines

Since 1995, Sheridan has launched over 60,000 graduates from its Brampton campus including a former Deputy Chief of Police at Peel and President and CEO of Hydro One. Over 33,000 alumni live in Brampton and 257 of them work at the City of Brampton. Over 160 Brampton companies have hired Sheridan graduates into 500 co-op and internship positions.

Fuelling Brampton’s health-care sector 

Brampton’s Davis Campus is home to Sheridan’s Practical Nursing program, which helps prepare graduates for a rewarding career in the growing health care field. Sheridan is extremely proud of its courageous Practical Nursing grads who continue to battle COVID-19 on the frontlines, and who recently shared their experiences about how their roles have changed since the pandemic’s onset. Our frontline alumni demonstrate heroic efforts within Brampton and beyond, and they continue to act as ambassadors for the college and surrounding communities.
Graduating students from Sheridan’s Pharmacy Technician program, also based in Brampton, also played a key role in the effort to reconstitute vaccines for the Trillium Health Partners University of Toronto Mississauga COVID-19 vaccine clinic this summer. Students worked hard to reconstitute between 2,000 to 2,700 COVID-19 vaccines a day.

Workplace Excellence in Brampton

Sheridan was proud to be awarded the Healthy Workplace of the Year from the Brampton Board of Trade Business Excellence Awards in May 2021, in recognition of our efforts to support our community’s well-being throughout the pandemic, and to keep our employees engaged and connected. Sheridan was further recognized as an employer of choice this past year through our ranking on the Forbes list of Canada’s Best Employers. Sheridan placed higher than any other Ontario college and above several large universities in the province and ahead of Google and Microsoft. This is the third time Sheridan has been included in Forbes’ ranking, improving from a top 100 ranking in 2020 to top 15 in 2021. 

Giving back through Youth Amplified

The pandemic has not stopped the college from fulfilling its mission to help make education more accessible and to help local youth reach their full potential. Through the Youth Amplified strategy launched in early 2021, Sheridan continues to unlock the transformative power of education by partnering with organizations like Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Peel, Eclypse Youth Centre and Black Boys Code to engage youth from our home communities in mentorship programs, postsecondary readiness preparation and meaningful programming connected to Sheridan’s disciplinary areas of strength – and help them forge a path to postsecondary education.

“For more than five decades, Sheridan has been a partner in Brampton’s progress, and a central part of our community,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, President of the Treasury Board and MPP for Brampton South. “From innovative initiatives connecting people to new opportunities, to frontline action in the fight against the pandemic—Sheridan is about building community, supporting development, and empowering people.”

“Sheridan isn’t just a school in Brampton – it’s a respected institution and pillar in the community,” said Brampton City Councillor, Jeff Bowman. “When the City needs leaders to step up and take action, Sheridan’s students, employees and alumni have always done so. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheridan was one of the first to donate money, materials and resources for Brampton’s recovery. They continue to support the City and we are thankful for this strong partnership.”

"I've been inspired to witness how Sheridan has stepped up during this pandemic and worked hard to put its expertise, equipment, and facilities at the service of the Brampton community during this critical time," said Regional Councillor, Martin Medeiros. "Sheridan's students and faculty no doubt will also play a role in shaping post-pandemic life in Brampton and we look forward to a continued partnership." 
 

To learn more about how Sheridan is enriching our local communities, please read the latest edition of our Community Impact Report.

---

Pictured above left: Simon Heathcote, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Technology Lab Manager with a face shield printed on a 3D printer in Sheridan's CAMDT; Sheridan's vaccine clinic at the Davis Campus in Brampton; Pharmacy Technician student Hamad Kakazai reconstituting a COVID-19 vaccine (photo provided by Carol Borscevski, Program Coordinator with Sheridan’s Pharmacy Technician Program).