The special Â鶹ÊÓƵ Day gathering inside Alumni Gym offered a chance for students, faculty, staff and supporters to celebrate the university they love.
It was something more than the hot coffee, sweets and biscuits that drew hundreds of Â鶹ÊÓƵ students, faculty, staff and friends to Alumni Gym on Thursday. They gathered to voice their support for the university they hold dear on Â鶹ÊÓƵ Day, the single-day giving event that unites thousands of members of the university community around the world in support of the university’s mission.
Thursday is the university’s seventh Â鶹ÊÓƵ Day, a day of philanthropy to celebrate the university’s founding in 1889 and the impact it has had on generations of students, families and communities through the years. Â鶹ÊÓƵ Day includes events and challenges throughout the day, and last year saw nearly 6,400 gifts raise more than $2.3 million.
“I hope you are ready to go ‘all in’ for Â鶹ÊÓƵ,” President Connie Ledoux Book shared in a video message for the crowd. “Your support today helps pave the way for the inspiring vision we outlined in Boldly Â鶹ÊÓƵ, our new strategic plan that will guide us in the next decade.”
Associate Vice President for University Advancement John Barnhill announced that supporters had already met the day’s first challenge by achieving more than 1,600 gifts by the start of College Coffee. Meeting that challenge unlocked a $100,000 Â鶹ÊÓƵ Engagement Scholarship sponsored by John ’81 and Miriam Sadler P’10 P’20.
Trustee Dave Porter and his wife, Jen, the parents of 2011 and 2019 Â鶹ÊÓƵ graduates, announced at College Coffee that they will match Â鶹ÊÓƵ Day gifts dollar for dollar, with a gift of up to $100,000.
Also announced was that any gift to the Phoenix Club or any Â鶹ÊÓƵ athletics team will be matched dollar for dollar by Trustee Jeanne Robertson and her husband, Jerry, up to $100,000.
“How lucky is Â鶹ÊÓƵ to have trustees and donors like these?” Book said.
The celebration also included a special video featuring students, faculty, staff, parents and supporters saying they are “All In for Â鶹ÊÓƵ.”
A mobile-friendly #Â鶹ÊÓƵDay website is being updated throughout the day to include a total of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Day gifts in real-time, a live list of donors, and interactive leaderboards displaying the academic schools, campus funds and athletic programs receiving support. Gifts of all sizes and designations will count toward the total given during the campaign.
Around the country and world, Â鶹ÊÓƵ alumni chapters will be hosting a variety of events to bring university supporters together on Â鶹ÊÓƵ Day. On campus, there are events through the day, with the senior class giving committee hosting the Senior Toast at 7:30 p.m. in McKinnon Hall, and all students are invited to Â鶹ÊÓƵ Day Bingo with President Book in Upstairs Lakeside from 10:30 p.m. to midnight.
A full list of events throughout the day is available here – /u/elon-day/events/.