Michelle Hennessy – News Writer
Southern’s Division of Institutional Advancement has seen a rise in the number of students helping to give back to Southern’s community.
Through events and activities, the division reached 310 supporters last year, something Development Assistant for Annual Giving, Jaime Toth, said she hoped would continue to grow.
“Our Senior Class campaign we topped off at about 300 last year which was a big increase from previous years which kind of hovered around the 100s,” said Toth. “So it’s building, we’re a fairly new program, but there seems to be a growing interest.”
Toth said the division puts on a number of events throughout the year to help raise money and awareness for students and departments.
“We celebrated the National Student Engagement and Philanthropy Day in February, it’s a nationally celebrated day, and we really wanted to raise awareness for what philanthropy actually is,” said Toth. “It’s not only giving money, but time and talent back to the Southern Community as well. There are many inspirational stories of giving taking place throughout our campus that we don’t hear about every day. The purpose of the day is to both educate the student population on the importance of giving and thanking current donors who support the University.”
According to Toth, 66 percent of students rely on some form of financial aid. She said the rate of Southern’s freshmen that work off campus has increased since 2011 from 47 percent to 56 percent, while 27 percent of seniors work more than 26 hours a week to help finance their education.
“These statistics show why students need to give now more than ever before,” said Toth. “There’s a variety of things that the money goes to. It goes back to student scholarships and initiatives, academic and departmental initiatives, we try to give it to the area of greatest need.”
Toth said when giving money, donors can also decide where they would like to see their money spent.
“They can also give their donation to anything they want, so if they want to give money to a particular scholarship or fund, they have that option as well.”
Toth said they host different events to raise awareness and money for philanthropy, such as Thank A Donor day, where students signed a banner thanking donors for their support.
“In conjunction with TAG day we had a faculty and staff coffee table set up, this was part of our Faculty and Staff for Student Success initiative. The whole point was to emphasize that for less than a cup of coffee, you can make a difference in the lives of Southern students,” said Toth.
A Senior Class Campaign is also in effect, giving students the opportunity to make a donation of $20.14, in commemoration of their year of graduation. Students get recognition on the banner at Commencement and seniors who join the campaign prior to April 25th will also have their name printed in the Commencement Program.
“Our goal is to create awareness and emphasize the importance of philanthropy throughout Southern’s campus,” said Toth. “It’s a combined effort and all members of the entire Southern community are working towards one common goal which is our students’ success.”
Toth said a number of students, faculty and alumni all give back to the university, and any donation can go a long way in helping Southern and its students.
“We have a percentage of alumni that give back, our staff also give back to the university,” said Toth. “It’s not just the dollar amount, but it’s the participation rate and the sense of community and the spirit of giving is what’s important. Big or small, all the donations matter.”
*APRIL 15TH IN THE ACADEMIC QUAD WILL BE SENIOR CLASS FESTIVAL DAY, WHICH WILL BE CARNIVAL THEMED*
