Senior Giving Surpasses 30K

Kristen Beaulieu ‘10 and 20 other students had been working hard to reach their class' giving goals set by the Office of Institutional Advancement. They exceeded those goals. According to Beaulieu, the co-chair of Senior Class Giving Committee, the senior class was asked to raise $30,000 for the fiscal year through 50 percent participation from all class members. As of now, the senior class has raised $38,463 with 58 percent class participation.

"If we reached those goals, an anonymous donor was going to donate $10,000 to the school," Beaulieu said.

Instead of purchasing a senior gift, the Senior Class Giving Committee decided to invest in Alumni Lane, a pathway of engraved bricks for those who wish to purchase one. This has been a very successful way to get seniors to donate.

"Let's just say our class is will be dominating Alumni Lane," Beaulieu stated.
Class donations in the past have been '64 Hall from the class of 1969 and the brick wall at the corner of Huxley Ave. and Eaton St. donated by the class of 2008.

The decision to not have a senior class gift has made more seniors prone to donating. Many of the seniors chose to donate on Cap and Gown Day with the $500 deposit enrollment fee they had refunded to them on that day.

"We were able to have that face-to-face interaction with seniors," Beaulieu stated.
Some students chose to donate their entire deposit to various Providence College fundraising initiatives, while others donated a portion of their check to the school. A total of $16,000 was from donations collected on Cap and Gown Day.

In terms of there being no tangible class gift this year, members of the senior class are very understanding.

"I think most people understand that our campus changes a lot," said Beaulieu. "I know that a lot of people believe this will be more beneficial for the College." Rather than spending money on a class gift, seniors can now donate to a fundraiser of their choice to the school or a specific department on campus.

The senior class has surpassed records. No other class in the history of Providence College has ever raised more than $30,000. "In just three years, the program has established itself on campus," Beaulieu said. The goal of the senior class giving committee was to change "the culture of giving" on campus and to make students aware of the benefits of giving. As Beaulieu stated, the more donors there are in current and future alumni pools, the higher the rankings will increase for the College.

Beaulieu hopes this will pave the way for future classes to take senior giving more seriously. "I think with the numbers we were able to reach this year, we are definitely on the road to that," she said.

Those seniors who donated to the various funds at Providence College were invited to attend a Senior Send Off cocktail party hosted outside of the President's House on Thursday, April 29. The president of the National Alumni Association, Mark Gasbarro '97, and Raymond L. Sickinger, professor of Public and Community Service Studies, along with Rev. Brian Shanley, O.P., Ph.D., will be making speeches throughout the night.

"Everyone has just come through so much and really put their hearts and efforts in it," Beaulieu stated. Students from the class of 2011 have been chosen to serve as next year's co-chairs for the class of 2011. They will have their first meeting sometime this summer.