This past Thursday, Nov. 13, a handful of students working with the Development Office and Keene State College Phonathon celebrated Philanthropy Day in the L.P. Young Student Center by handing out free piggy banks, educating students on the impact donors have on students.
Tim Smith / Equinox Staff
According to Matt Pereira, junior and communications major, the purpose of the free piggy banks was to encourage students to collect spare change and keep it in their banks until April 16, 2015.
On that date, in which Pereira said was called “Throwback Give Forward,” the Development Office requests that piggy bank holders return to the student center to donate their collected change to the KSC Fund, which, according to Pereira, is put toward scholarships and financial aid for KSC students.
Samantha Spielberg, a junior and critical film studies major, explained that Philanthropy Day was important because she believed not many students are aware of how donations from outside sources affect them.
“I didn’t really know a lot about [Philanthropy Day] before applying to Keene but working at Phonathon has sort of taught me that there are people all around us that are making it possible for us to go to school,” Spielberg said.
Both Spielberg and Pereira stated that they work the Phonathon for the Development Office.
Pereira noted, “Phonathon is when we call alumni and ask them to donate to the KSC fun or multiple funds around campus … Their donations go toward scholarships and financial aid in different departments around the school.”
Pereira also stated that events like Phonathon are only a small part of KSC Philanthropy.
“I help do things like Phonathon and Philanthropy Day because I think it’s a cool way to get people started on their journey to being an active alumni … It’s my job to help raise money for scholarships and financial aid and also promote philanthropy throughout the school and make students want to be involved with Keene State after they graduate,” he said.
Spielberg noted how grateful she was for the donations that allow her and a number of other students to attend school. It is their generosity, she said, that inspired her to work for the Development Office and donate in the future.
“The least that I can do is spread awareness by doing something like this … We’re hoping that, in the future, graduates will know about the KSC fund and donate because they know that it helped them when they were a student here,” Spielberg said.
Claire Hickey can be contacted at chickey@keene-equinox.com
