Download Image: Web
The Lycoming College community demonstrated its Warrior pride during its fifth annual Days of Giving on April 18-19, 2023. The 48-hour event achieved new all-time highs in both alumni participation and dollars raised, resulting in 1,439* donors and $485,320* in gifts to support the people and programs that make its campus so distinctive.
“I’m overwhelmed by the outpouring of support during our annual Days of Giving,” said Chip Edmonds, Ed.D. ’98, executive vice president of Lycoming College. “The College has always stressed donor participation, that it’s not only about how much we give, but rather how many of us give. Each year, we continue to exceed our participation goal, and this year was truly remarkable, increasing last year’s total by 343 donors.”
The Lycoming board of trustees are some of the College’s biggest champions for Days of Giving, collectively contributing more than $100,000 for challenges designed to motivate others to give back this year. “We are proud of our affiliation with Lycoming College and are ambitious about its future. Our deep and broad support today and going forward is essential to what Lycoming can accomplish,” said Mark Fultz ’80, chair of the board, and Don Hughes ’72, vice chair of the board.
As part of a new initiative this year, the College encouraged alumni to step forward to establish their own priorities and challenges important to them with a goal to bolster participation from peers. Donors could support a variety of funds that best aligned with their interests, and these challenges were available to unlock prizes for an even greater impact.
Among some of these challenges included leadership from Mark Ohlinger ’92, who offered support toward global education. Patrick Welteroth ’12 challenged fellow graduates of the last decade (GOLD) to join him in support of their alma mater, resulting in increased giving by GOLDs compared to last year’s Days of Giving.
To encourage fellow Greek-affiliated alumni to make a gift, Phil Levesque ’00 unlocked a donation of $1,812 to support the College in honor of Lycoming’s founding year. A College-sponsored challenge also offered to provide a tailgate during Homecoming Weekend 2023 to the fraternity or sorority that had the highest alumni donor participation, with Gamma Delta Sigma earning the prize.
Lycoming hosted a Party at The Pub on April 19 as a means for the campus community, alumni, and friends of the College to gather and celebrate such amazing generosity. The Sitler Family – Mark Sitler ’86, Markell (Sitler) Kunigus ’09, and Ashley Sitler ’12 – offered their own challenge to unlock additional funds during this two-hour event.
Lycoming College pledged to unlock $2,000 for every 100 donors who gave during Days of Giving, which resulted in an additional $32,000 to support its students and programs. To help the College celebrate reaching 1,000 donors, Donna Andrews ’99 offered a match of $1,000. “Dr. Robert Larson was my advisor and had a profound impact on my life. I count him as inspiration and friend, and pledged to support the Larson Morris Piper History Endowed Fellowship as soon as I heard it existed,” said Andrews. “I was thrilled to be a challenger for this year’s Days of Giving and excited to double my annual pledge to the fellowship so another historian can find their passion at Lycoming.”
Ever popular were the Warrior Club Athletics challenges. This year’s winning teams included baseball, women’s cross country, men’s basketball, and wrestling. Motivated to champion for their favorite sports, Mark Pile ’74 offered his own challenge for baseball, Jay Thomson ’86 matched a gift in celebration of cross country’s 40th anniversary, and Gretchen (Hause) Kostelny ’03 boosted additional funds toward volleyball.
Inspired by the momentum of Days of Giving, three members of the Lycoming community offered “pop up” challenges the second day of the campaign. Coach Chris Ditzler successfully inspired women’s basketball alumnae to support the team by unlocking additional funds for the program. Cullen Chandler, Ph.D., professor of history and director of the Scholars Program, and Amy Chandler, director of advancement communications, challenged fellow faculty and staff with a prize to show their support for the Gender & Sexuality Alliance. The campus community responded with an outpouring of generosity, garnering more than $2,000 for the student organization.
*Reflects audited totals post Days of Giving
Join us next year in support of Days of Giving April 9 & 10, 2024!