The Annual Fund student phone-a-thon has completed about 30 of the 50 nights of calling for the 2006-2007 fiscal year and alumni and friends are answering the call to "open doors of opportunity" for Wabash students.
As part of their conversations, members of the 22-man student calling team are explaining to alumni and friends how Annual Fund gifts open doors of opportunity for Wabash students—opportunities such as generous scholarships, top-notch faculty instruction, cutting-edge technology, and inspiring travel abroad programs.
The callers go on to explain how this year—for every alumnus, parent, or friend who makes a pledge or gift to the Annual Fund during one of the phone-a-thon sessions—they will be writing the name of the individual donor on an actual door to show how gifts add up to open even more doors of opportunity for Wabash students.
The names of over 1,000 alumni, parents, and friends of Wabash have been added to the old wood door.
Joe Klen ’97 and Roger Busch ’96 coordinate the College’s Annual Fund plan and supervise the Phone Room.
"Almost every alumnus or parent has a story about how doors of opportunity opened for them," said Klen. "Some alumni talk about a professor introducing an idea or getting them hooked on a particular discipline and how those interactions opened the door to a passion for life-long learning. Other alumni talk about travel abroad opportunities that changed their life. Parents often mention how generous scholarships opened the door for their sons to attend Wabash. And current students talk about how technology and updated facilities are enhancing their undergraduate experience."
Busch adds, "Writing the names of alumni and friends who pledge their support of the Annual Fund on the door helps the student callers, who are a small representation of the larger student body, have a better understanding of the collective impact of all gifts—both large and small."
Klen and Busch report that nearly a quarter of those who make annual gifts to the College make those commitments through conversations with Wabash students during one of the phone-a-thon sessions.
The students call from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Sunday-Thursday evenings from a 12 man calling room in the lower level of the Pioneer Chapel on the Wabash campus. They will be calling again in February and later in the spring as the June 30 fiscal year-end approaches.
So if the phone rings, you answer, and there is a Wabash student on the other end—take a few minutes to share your Wabash experience and his current experience. You might be surprised to learn which doors of opportunity opened for both of you as a result of some alumnus or friend, like you, who made a gift to the Annual Fund.
If you are not able to talk with a Wabash student this fiscal year, you can always make your gift in support of opening doors for Wabash students by visiting https://www.wabash.edu/alumni/egift.