Students benefit from donations to #GivingTuesday

Nov. 28th was #GivingTuesday, a day that encourages the act of giving. The Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact — a cultural center in New York City — created #GivingTuesday in response to commercial consumption to create an international day of giving during the holiday season.

Thomas Duke, UW Tacoma’s alumni relations annual giving officer, organized the campaign for students and community members.

“I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to reach out to our Husky community in order to raise funds for scholarships, student-support and excellence funds across campus,” Duke said.

#GivingTuesday helps UWT promote its Boundless campaign, which has raised over $30 million so far.

“We have reached out to all existing donors, alumni, as well as faculty and staff and encouraged their participation,” Duke said. “What we hope to see is a massive amount of Husky Pride on Giving Tuesday.”

Scholarships aid students with tuition, books, parking, daycare and dorms.

“All donations are directed at the request of the donor to the specific funds. These funds are allocated by the academic programs or administrators within each program office,” Duke said.

Aliyah Jones, a current sophomore at UWT, is one of many students benefiting from the donations to #GivingTuesday. Interested in a bachelor’s degree in criminal law, Jones will be the first in her family to graduate college. The Debra Friedman Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which is funded by donations, is helping Jones afford to live on campus and purchase books.

“Paying for school has been a little bit of a heavy shovel, and loans are part of the picture. I’ve had to look hard for scholarships,” Jones said.

UWT hopes to participate in #GivingTuesday every year.

“We will assess the participation this year and see if it is something our Husky community is willing to get behind and support,” Duke said. “We hope that this will become an annual giving day on our campus that our alumni, campus and community looks forward to year-to-year.”