Alumni Throwback to Give Back to the University of Maryland, College Park.
In 2014, a small group of alumnae wanted to find a way to celebrate their 25 year anniversary as members of their sorority, whose primary mission is to serve the community. The initial plan was to simply have a festive celebration during Homecoming. However, that plan quickly turned into something far more meaningful when they decided to honor the sorority’s mission/purpose by sponsoring a scholarship campaign among the University of Maryland's black alumni.
The campaign theme was entitled 'Throwback – Give Back.' Its goal was to encourage black alumni to reflect on their own experiences as students (Throwback) -- particularly as it related to the funding of their education -- and to share similar opportunities with current students through the ongoing support of scholarships (Give Back). The campaign reminded alumni that many of them were fortunate to be the recipients of scholarships, to qualify for financial aid, to find well paid employment or to have support from their families to fund their college education. However, at the same time, many others were not as fortunate and struggled to find those resources, resulting in the postponement or abandonment of their dreams.
The fearless goal in the inaugural year was to simply raise a few thousand dollars during the two weeks that preceded and followed Homecoming. To their delight, the online efforts and Homecoming day activities resulted in contributions totaling $10,201 for six University of Maryland scholarships. Many of the donations came from alumni who had never before considered making a contribution to the University.
The Throwback-Give Back campaign was designed to be a Homecoming tradition among black alumni at the university. The 2015 campaign began October 17th and will appropriately conclude on December 1, 2015 - Giving Tuesday. The number of participating scholarships has grown from 6 to 11. Each scholarship provides need or merit based financial aid.
To support the campaign this year, and in the years to come, the committee developed a website, which includes a pictorial of alumni since 1952, a statement of the campaign's purpose and most importantly, impact statements from scholarship recipients.
www.throwback-giveback.com
Review from #MyGivingStory