November 12, 2010 | The UConn Foundation

Saying Thank You

Nov. 15 is a day to say thank you to donors and for students to learn about giving back.

As UConn focuses more intently on private giving, the Storrs campus will celebrate Philanthropy Day for the first time on Nov. 15, to educate UConn students about the importance of philanthropy and thank alumni and friends who have supported the University.

Hosted by the UConn Foundation’s Student Philanthropy Committee, the day will be about giving – and receiving. UConn alumnus David Barton ’61, a member of the UConn Alumni Association and a UConn donor, has issued a challenge to all UConn students: Give $5 or more to an area of interest, and he will match each gift dollar for dollar up to a total of $25,000.

What students receive in return: a chance to win stuff they want and need. Participants who visit the Student Philanthropy booth from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 15 at either the Student Union or Fairfield Way may enter to win several possible prizes, including an iPad. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. that day, there will also be giveaways at two dining halls.

Campaign logo

Barton and members of the Student Philanthropy Committee hope that Philanthropy Day will build awareness of the importance of giving among UConn students, particularly as part of the University’s $600 million capital campaign, Our University. Our Moment. The Campaign for UConn. The campaign seeks to increase support for education, research and outreach.

“Students need to understand the economics of education, that tuition pays for about one third, the state pays another third, and philanthropy and grants pay the rest,” he says. “In fact, the day they start, they are recipients of philanthropy from people who have gone before them.”

Many UConn students have become a part of the Student Philanthropy Committee, including Rebecca D’Angelo, ’14.

“I wanted to join because to me philanthropy means saying ‘Thank you,’” she says. “As a scholarship recipient, but more so as a student, I think I have a lot to be thankful for.”

Those interested in giving may visit the Student Philanthropy Committee’s website or call 860-486-1173.

For additional stories of giving, visit the Foundation website.