On March 29, the University Advancement department organized the ‘Lewis One Day of Giving’ event, which was dedicated to raising funds for the projects around campus. For staff members, there was free coffee and donuts. For students, there was a self-serve candy bar.
“So between nine and four, we’re going to be offering coffee and donuts for faculty/staff throughout the day,” said executive director of alumni engagement Krysten McGee. “In the living room of Stritch Hall, there was a self-serve candy bar for the students, where they came in, grabbed a bag, filled it up with candy, met other students, saw the importance of the day of giving and how the funds will help the campus.”
The event was originally supposed to be at the Welcome Center, but due to it being flooded, the event was held in Stritch Hall instead.
“What we were hoping for was to host it at the Welcome Center because we don’t think a lot of students come to see us at the Welcome Center, so we were hoping to have this big event there,” said McGee. “Unfortunately, the Welcome Center got flooded and the office is shut down, so now we’re hosting it at Stritch Hall.”
It was held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and at 2:30 p.m., President Livingston gave a speech. Lewis’ beloved mascot Bedcheck Charlie also made an appearance and had a photo op with students.
“When Dr. Livingston comes, Bedcheck Charlie will also be there,” said McGee. “Throughout the day, we’ll also have a Bedcheck Charlie cut out so students can put their face in the face hole and take a picture as him because everybody’s probably aware he will be retiring soon.”
For the past five years, this event has been taking place on Lewis’ campus and each year has a different campaign. The campaign for this year’s event was “One Vision, One Mission, One Lewis.”
“Even though all of the students, the faculty/staff have their individual stories to tell, we’re all part of this one because it’s one day at Lewis, which is just being the foundation of Lewis and supporting everything that’s going on around campus and supporting the students,” said McGee.
The event was mainly held to raise money for all of the ongoing projects on campus. There were a total of 18 projects to fund and several of them were nominated by students and colleagues. Every dollar donated will directly impact these projects that will serve the students.
“There’s 18 projects this year, and several of the projects were nominated by colleagues and students so back in December, we sent out an email to students and staff to see which causes were important to them,” said McGee. “We asked them to nominate causes and they sent a form back and from those causes that were nominated, we picked the ones that we thought could make the greatest difference.”
Students and faculty were encouraged to attend because they could socialize with different people and make new connections with other students that aren’t in their classes. They were also encouraged to donate to the funds for the projects.
“Socks are for people who donate more than $25 to the project fund, which are exclusive to this year because they recognize Bedcheck Charlie’s retirement,” said McGee. “I think it’s great for students to come and see other students they might not have met or see people who have the same interests as them and it’s all about building community.”
Students who weren’t able to donate, were encouraged to write thank you letters to the generous donors of the school. The goal for donations was $100,000 and the goal for the amount of donors was 525.
At the end of the event, the school accomplished its goal and raised $112,795. Even though the goal for the number of donors was 525, the event was still successful with 415 donors making generous donations to the projects on campus.
McGee ultimately hoped people had fun and that the event built a sense of community.
“We’re trying to get some baselines for philanthropy, teach the basics of philanthropy and hope that students become donors in the future as they get older and get more secure,” said McGee.
Since this event is kicking off Bedcheck Charlie’s retirement tour, the next event everyone can see him at is the men’s lacrosse game on April 15.
Phot Credit: Katelyn Leano
