Day of Giving returns to Duquesne Feb. 7

Olivia Higgins | Staff Photographer
A table-topper for the Day of Giving sits on a table in the Union Starbucks. The second iteration of the crowdfunding drive aims to top last years result of $109,122.
Olivia Higgins | Staff Photographer  A table-topper for the Day of Giving sits on a table in the Union Starbucks. The second iteration of the crowdfunding drive aims to top last years result of $109,122.
Olivia Higgins | Staff Photographer
A table-topper for the Day of Giving sits on a table in the Union Starbucks. The second iteration of the crowdfunding drive aims to top last years result of $109,122.

Liza Zulick | Staff Writer

Duquesne is hosting its second annual Day of Giving, Feb. 7, to allow alumni, faculty and other donors to give to any organization on campus they would like to support.

This year, the celebration will be opened with a Kick-Off Party at the Red Ring on Friday, Feb 6. from 4-6 p.m. The party will start the donations, but officially, the Day of Giving will not start until midnight.

“We will actually open up the donation period at this event in hopes to get early donations before the Day of Giving officially launches at midnight,” said David Jakielo, assistant director of annual giving.

All donations to each organization can be made online where donors can type into the textbox exactly how much they would like to donate. Participants can watch the total grow as donations are counted on the web.

This year, there will be seven different challenges for different campus organizations, which call upon individual donors to reach designated goals for donors to a particular organization. For example, an anonymous donor will give $10,000 to the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business if 100 other individuals also donate.

Challenges have also been set for the schools of law, nursing, liberal arts, pharmacy business and women’s swimming and diving team. If all of the challenges are met, $36,000 will be donated.

According to Jakielo, the goal is to beat last year’s total donation figure of $109,122.

Duquesne’s School of Law has two out of the seven challenges this year.

“The School of Law looks forward to engaging donors on this year’s Day of Giving through exciting challenges from our Law Alumni Association and its president, Garry A. Nelson, a 1982 law graduate,” said Jeanine DeBor, director of law alumni relations and development in Duquesne’s School of Law. “Both have generously agreed to donate a total of $7,500 if 75 donors give to the law school on our Day of Giving.”

According to Cherith Simmer, assistant professor and assistant dean of recruitment and enrollment management in Duquesne’s School of Nursing, and Kate DeLuca, assistant dean of student affairs in the School of Nursing, advertising for the annual Day of Giving was all done online using various forms of social media and by sending out emails to alumni.

Last year, the School of Nursing was given $4,492, which was used for equipment in the Learning and Simulation Lab in Libermann Hall, nursing student professional development in the professional organizations; and the student remediation program.

This year, the nursing school is anticipating $7,500 for the Day of Giving. They are planning on using it for renovations of the School of Nursing student lounge in Fischer Hall, according to Simmer and DeLuca.