No One Likes Losing Connection: student campaign launches with BBBSO

Posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2026

What began as a 24-hour classroom project in the Advertising program is now launching as a community campaign to support youth in Ottawa.

Each year, third-year Ad students participate in a Boot Camp to develop full integrated marketing communications campaigns for a client—in just 24 hours! This year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ottawa (BBBSO) challenged them to attract new monthly donors. The winning team of Jenna Bastarache, Lindsay Ott, Nick Parry, Fatima Rabi, and Erica Tran created No One Likes Losing Connection, an insight-driven campaign that has now officially launched as part of BBBSO’s monthly giving initiative.

The campaign is grounded in a powerful and timely human truth: in a world where digital connection is constant, the fear of losing meaningful connection is real. The students reframed monthly giving as a way to prevent youth from losing vital mentorship relationships—reinforcing that sustained support keeps life-changing connections strong.

Now live on the BBBSO website and social media (LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook), the campaign invites donors to become monthly supporters to ensure mentoring matches remain stable and consistent for local youth. BBBSO highlights how regular contributions provide reliable funding that sustains one-to-one mentoring relationships, helping young people build confidence, resilience, and a sense of belonging.

And the impact extends even further. As Kait Price, Marketing and Communications Manager at BBBSO and an alumna of the Advertising program, shared with the winning students: “We are taking the theme of ‘Connection’ that your team created and making it our entire theme for 2026. The visuals and language you developed will be integrated as an overarching message in everything we do this coming year—from campaigns to communications to events. We are very excited to showcase the incredible work you have done.”

This initiative exemplifies applied learning at Algonquin College and the Ad program: students working with a real nonprofit client, solving a real fundraising challenge, and producing work that moves beyond the classroom to create tangible community impact.


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