From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday in the Trident Lounge in Neptune Residence Hall, the NIU Foundation hosted their first Thankuary Donor Gratitude Event. The event was also hosted from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday in Patterson Community Center.
Thankuary allowed students to write thank you notes to NIU donors who make different endowments possible such as scholarships. The thank you notes were for donors that donated gifts of any size.
At the event, about five students came and went to write thank you notes, enter for raffle prizes and get hot chocolate and cookies. The hot chocolate bar included marshmallows and whipped cream for students who wrote a thank you note to the donors.
The NIU Foundation provided examples of what students could write in their thank you note such as “thank you for your thoughtful gift” and “your gift means more than you know.”
Students also had the opportunity to record a video testimonial for the NIU Foundation, either by reading off of a script or by just saying thank you.
The prizes students had the chance of winning were NIU themed Lego sets or a jigsaw puzzle.
Anna Toole, associate director of donor relations for the NIU Foundation, explained how donor funded programs such as scholarships help students.
“As far as scholarships go specifically, I have the privilege of reading a lot of student stories and we have a lot of folks who pay their own way through school, who are working other jobs while they’re going to school, who are coming back to school and have full families to support,” Toole said. “We also have a diverse pool of funding and scholarships that if you are in need, there is something for you here.”
Students could also visit Mission, NIU’s school mascot, at the event.
Patricia Geno, a junior psychology major, said she was grateful for the opportunity to thank donors.
“It feels very nice to just show them how appreciative I am, because I feel like it’s hard to otherwise, like, you don’t really know how else to do it, but being provided the opportunity is very nice,” Geno said.
The NIU Foundation plans on hosting this event annually and potentially expanding its scope. For more information about the NIU Foundation, students can visit their website.
