By Sydney Tancowny
Sydney Tancowny (left) and Bree Urkow (right) of Augustana's Development Office promoted Giving Tuesday in the Forum to all staff, students, and campus visitors.
This year marked Augustana's third annual celebration of Giving Tuesday, an international movement for giving and volunteering which occurs after the materialism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday acts as an introduction to the giving season, and Tuesday, November 29th embodied the spirit of giving on Augustana Campus.
In the months leading up to Giving Tuesday, the campus goal was to raise funds to purchase two change tables for the bathrooms on the main level of the Forum building, an urgent need requiring attention to ensure all feel welcome on campus. The importance of this goal was quickly recognized across campus as the initiative received a surge of support-the fundraising goal was met before Giving Tuesday even arrived!
However, things didn't stop there. The campus focus turned next to a request by the students: building an ice skating rink in the Augustana Quad. The addition of the ice rink to campus would enable all at Augustana to benefit from fun outdoor exercise during the winter season. With this new goal in mind, staff from the Development Office hosted a Giving Tuesday celebration in the Forum on November 29th to honour philanthropy, answer questions, and encourage support-while behind them the area for the ice rink was being cleared in anticipation of achieving our fundraising goal. During the event, visitors talked excitedly about how the change tables would assist individuals with children or how they couldn't wait to start bringing their skates to campus.
Sydney Tancowny presented student Preston Wideman (right) with his prize from a local resident and Augustana donor.
This Giving Tuesday saw impressive support from the campus community. Donations were made throughout the day by many, including several first time donors and donors who gave not once, but twice, to support both causes! "I'm extremely proud of the Augustana community for pitching in and making great things happen on our campus," said Dean Allen Berger. "The success of Giving Tuesday was a demonstration of the caring individuals I work with each day."
Giving Tuesday has also been a remarkable day for Camrose resident and Augustana donor Marilyn Pike. "Augustana is a special place for a lot of people," she said, upon delivering her hand-made basket of gift cards-for the second time-that everyone donating to Giving Tuesday would be eligible to win. "It's meaningful for me to support a campus that supports so many."
As Giving Tuesday drew to a close, the contributions from our generous campus community was an inspiration, with over $4,300 raised to support campus initiatives. Thank you to all who participated in Giving Tuesday-together, our thoughtful gifts have a great impact on Augustana Campus.