3/3/16: Day of Success
At first the idea seemed a little crazy: Cram one month’s worth of giving into a 24-hour period.
The number of donors from the previous month-long March Challenges was 896. Was it reasonable to think one day of giving could come close to that? In hindsight, it was absurd not to.
When the clock struck midnight on the morning of March 4, 2016, marking the end of the first-ever Springfield College Giving Day, 1,291 alumni, students, families, and friends of the College had made a gift. All together they had raised $242,037.
It was refreshing to see so many members of the Springfield College family come together in support of a single goal.
Springfield College was fortunate to have supporters like Board of Trustees Chair Greg Toczydlowski ’89 and his wife Mary-Jo ’88, Pete Watson ’79 and his wife Linda, Trustee Steve McCarthy ’86 and his wife Erin, and several anonymous donors who provided challenge gifts as incentives to support. Staff were able to power through the night thanks to cappuccinos provided by Sean ’90 and Darren ’91 Pierce of Pierce Bros Coffee.
The Class of 2016 challenged the Class of 1974 to see who could make the most gifts. Although the Class of 1974 ultimately won, the two groups had the most gifts of all alumni classes by a wide margin.
Most transparent about the day was the fervor and excitement among the staff, faculty, alumni, and mostly the students, who stopped by Giving Day headquarters to volunteer or make a gift. It was refreshing to see so many members of the Springfield College family come together in support of a single goal. They were such an integral part of the day’s success, so what better way to describe the impact of Giving Day than in their own words?
“It was incredible for me to be surrounded by people all day who love this place as much as I do. There was a point in the day when I looked around and I thought ‘these are my people, these are the people who understand my passion, and these are the people who love Springfield as much as I do.’ Partaking in Giving Day was just a very small way for me to say ‘thank you’ to a place that has done more for me than I could even put into words,” says Paige Moran ’16.
“With the excitement for Giving Day building [in the preceding] month, I have been reminded of all the reasons why I love Springfield College. This place, and the people who fill it, truly do hold something special. Nothing made me happier than getting to experience yesterday with all of you; people who love and believe in this institution as much as I do,” says Lindsey Canty ’17.
