Annual Event is Chance to Support Scholarships and More
04/04/2018
Contact: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – Last year, 2,286 donors took part in UMass Lowell’s first-ever Days of Giving, a 48-hour fundraising challenge that brought in more than $288,000 to support everything from scholarships to sports teams.
UMass Lowell grad student Diana Santana was one of those donors.
On Tuesday, April 10 and Wednesday, April 11, when the university launches its second annual Days of Giving, Santana says she’ll be among the first in line. After all, she knows firsthand how support from a stranger can help change a student’s life.
Six years ago, Santana and her two young children were living in a shelter in Waltham.
“I wanted a better life,” she said. “To get it, I knew I needed to pursue higher education.”
With scholarship support, Santana went after that goal with a vengeance, first at Middlesex Community College and then at UMass Lowell. Last spring, she graduated summa cum laude and earned the Chancellor’s Medal for Diversity and Inclusion. Today, she’s studying for her master’s degree in community social psychology at UMass Lowell and working as a graduate assistant in the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
“People who didn’t know me gave money so that I could pursue my goals,” Santana said. “Now, I will give whatever I can because I know what that gift meant to me.”
For Eric Allen, UMass Lowell’s senior associate athletic director, last year’s Days of Giving “was an easy way to come together to produce real results.”
Allen not only contributed, he also challenged the university’s Division I athletics coaches to get involved.
“After all, we love competition,” he said, particularly after the university offered a matching gift to the team with the greatest number of donors. “If there was ever a time to say ‘every little bit counts,’ this was it.
More than 600 donors gave a total of over $27,000 to UMass Lowell’s men’s and women’s DI teams and the United in Blue athletics fund, with the women’s field hockey team leading the way with 130 donors.
“It just shows you how passionate our coaches are, to win when they coach and to educate their players and alumni about the importance of supporting the university,” Allen said.
Participation in this year’s Days of Giving is open to all alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and friends of the university. The goal: rally 2,500 donors in the space of 48 hours and receive more than $40,000 in matching funds.
“You can direct your gift to support a wide range of programs,” said Deidra Miles, associate director of annual giving. That includes multiple academic schools and colleges within the university, student clubs and veterans’ services. “Your gift of any size will help us reach our goal.”
She also encourages donors to spread the word on social media, which led to more than 400 gifts last year.
To make a gift on April 10 and April 11, go to https://www.givecampus.com/schools/uml, where progress on the goal can be tracked and giving challenges will be issued. Donations can also be made at www.uml.edu/umlgives, or by mailing a check to UMass Lowell Days of Giving, Office of University Advancement, Hoff Alumni Scholarship Center, 1 Perkins St., Lowell, MA 01854.
UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 18,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu