PARKSIDE DAY ENGAGES COMMUNITY, RAISES FUNDS FOR FUTURE FOCUS SCHOLARSHIP
SOMERS - On Tuesday, April 30th, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside hosted “Parkside Day,” a 24-hour challenge for alumni and community members to give to and engage with the university.
“We chose to offer a challenge day as part of UW-Parkside’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations, and the community responded with so much enthusiasm,” said J. Thomas (Tom) Krimmel, associate chancellor for university development and alumni relations and a UW-Parkside class of 1972 graduate. “We didn’t know what to expect since it was UW-Parkside’s first giving day, but it was so successful that we plan to make it an annual event.”
Throughout the day, supporters also engaged with the university on social networks and on campus. Parkside Day featured a Parkside trivia contest and multiple social media challenges. Notably, the Parkside Day video was viewed by more than 14,000 people on Facebook.
Parkside Day’s main focus was encouraging individuals to make online donations, which totaled more than $33,000 from more than 170 donors in the 24-hour period. “This was well beyond our initial goal of 100 Parkside Day donors, which speaks to the commitment of our alumni and other community members to benefiting UW-Parkside. We saw many alumni excited to get involved and ‘pay it forward’ for future students,” Krimmel noted.
The funds raised primarily benefit the Future Focus Scholarship, which was created by the UW-Parkside Foundation in 2018 to provide need-based support to UW-Parkside students. UW-Parkside Foundation board members provided matching funds as an incentive for donations to the Future Focus Scholarship on Parkside Day.
“Local corporations like our anniversary sponsors Snap-on Incorporated and Johnson Financial Group led the way in investing in the Future Focus Scholarship at the 50 Years Gala. Parkside Day was an opportunity to ask the whole community to join us in supporting students,” says Emily Lawrence, president of the UW-Parkside Foundation. “The UW-Parkside Foundation board is committed to providing raising funds that make a critical difference for UW-Parkside students, and we thank donors for partnering with us to carry out this mission.”
Individuals interested in supporting the Future Focus Scholarship or other UW-Parkside initiatives can learn more and give online at www.uwp.edu/giving.
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