Fortunate Tshirangwana and Keith Runes talk during the Lehigh Made Possible event on Monday, April 13, 2015, on the UC front lawn. The goal of this event is to raise awareness of how generosity and philanthropy make every Lehigh experience possible. (Gimin Lee/B&W Photo)
Last year, 17,500 donors gave more than $13.7 million to the Lehigh Fund, which supports academic experience, student life and financial aid.
To bring awareness to the ways the Lehigh Fund benefits the student experience, the Lehigh class officers held an event called Lehigh Made Possible this week from Monday through Wednesday.
“The main goal is to educate the student body on the impact of philanthropy,” said Casey Sharkey, the associate director of student philanthropy.
The Lehigh Fund impacts a significant portion of the Lehigh community, including Greek Life, clubs, club sports, study abroad and student government. Thirty-six percent of the money in the fund goes to academic experience, which includes faculty support, study abroad and research; 23 percent goes to student life, encompassing athletics, student clubs and community service; 36 percent goes to financial aid; and 5 percent goes to other.
“We’re trying to show the student body all the ways people contribute to Lehigh,” said John Schultz, the Class of 2015 president. “We’re trying to inform the student body that these things are made possible by others who give to the school.”
Each of the three days of Lehigh Made Possible had a different theme with a different class year responsible for managing the event.
The first day, run by the first-year class officers, was centered around awareness and education. Class officers wore posters that listed clubs, organizations and experiences that the Lehigh Fund supports. Students were then encouraged to sign the posters if they were involved in any of these groups, showing that they directly benefited from donations.
“We’re raising awareness for the Lehigh Fund and student and alumni giving to show how many people it really affects because tuition doesn’t cover everything,” said Megan Olivola, the Class of 2018 correspondent.
Many students don’t realize that tuition does not cover everything. The money from student tuition does not cover every expense of the university. Donations from alumni and current students are also necessary for the university’s expenses.
During this academic year, over 1,500 students have already donated to Lehigh. The senior class gift has 656 senior student donors, surpassing the goal of 650 donors.
The second day, run by the Class of 2018 officers, focused on gratitude and thanking donors. A wall of thanks prompted students to write what they were thankful for at Lehigh and recognize how giving back to Lehigh fuels these activities.
The final day was run by the junior class officers. The event provided current students with an opportunity to give back and actually donate to Lehigh. Students who received a t-shirt could return to the event the next day wearing their Lehigh Made Possible shirt to receive a gift card for ice cream at The Cup.
“We want to plant the seeds of philanthropy in the students because the school can’t run without students giving back,” said Hai Le, the Class of 2018 president.
This is the first year the class officers hosted Lehigh Made Possible, but they hope to make it an annual event. All three days of the event featured free food, music and t-shirt giveaways.
“Students don’t realize that all of this is made possible by others who give back regularly to the university,” Schultz said.
The final day is “encouraging students that later on when they graduate, become alumni themselves, they want to give back and see the difference that makes, because it is changing their experience here at Lehigh, right now,” Le said.
Sharkey called the event a success.
“People are still coming up, and to me the conversations are the most important,” she said. “If they’re walking away with any kind of ounce of awareness that their experience is made possible through annual giving, then I think it is a total success.”
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