The Washburn University Day of Giving is an annual giving campaign and a way to celebrate Washburn University on its 156th birthday which took place February 4th. This year, the Day of Giving netted $327,000 for the Washburn Community.

“Washburn University created [Day of Giving] just to kind of help celebrate the founding of Washburn University, and it’s just an opportunity for alumni to come together on the same day and try to make an impact,” said Marshall Meek, the president of the Washburn University Alumni Association and Foundation.

Clubs and organizations all across campus advocate for themselves to not only raise money for the university, but their department to keep making it better. Daphne Williams, junior majoring in mass media, supported three organizations that she is a part of; the Women’s Basketball Team, Mass Media and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

The Day of Giving had 30 different campus projects take part in raising money, giving alum a wide variety to donate to if a project piques their interest.

“It’s a great way for the foundation, and our friends at the university to connect and get a better understanding of everything that’s going on,” said Meek.

Some projects depend on the Day of Giving as their sole form of financial stability, because some departments may not have the necessary funds for every project that goes on underneath it; this gives departments an opportunity to accomplish more things that they want to. This not only helps the students and departments, but it also helps the alumni stay connected and create bonds with groups that they might not have known about otherwise.

Washburn University accepts financial donations as well as gifts, which are donations of anything other than money. Meek said that Washburn University raised a little above $327,000 and 1,093 gifts.

“We typically as an organization, receive about 10,000 gifts a year. So, 10% of our total number of gifts that we will receive [this year] came on that one single day, so it’s pretty cool,” said Meek.

Meek continued on by explaining why alumni enjoy giving back to the Washburn Community.

“I just think Washburn’s a really special place and people have fond memories of their time, when they were students, and we have a lot of folks who like to stay connected and like to make a difference.”

Giving is a way to recognize and remember the great education that alumni received at Washburn University and help pass that great education on to the next generation.

“I think students and staff spend a great amount of time into this day and trying to raise money, so to help those students and staff would definitely be on my radar in the future,” said Williams. “People work hard and should be noticed and rewarded for that.”

Edited by Donna Whipple, Matthew L. Self