MSU’s first-ever university-wide push to support students on Day of Giving was a smashing success—and not just because you helped us raise $241,939 on a Tuesday in November.
It’s because for one whole day, you and your fellow Spartans from all over the country and the world were focused on making MSU a better place by supporting programs and causes that help students.
And you were excited about it!
Tom Benner (’73, Spartan Proud) stayed up past midnight to make a $50 gift to the St. Louis alumni club scholarship fund just minutes after the Give Green Day festivities kicked off.
Later in the day, he made a second $50 gift to the Student Emergency Assistance Fund. Tom has seen, firsthand, how both of these scholarship funds make a difference in students’ lives.
“The students that come to MSU from St. Louis come because they love the atmosphere at Michigan State, and the opportunities it offers them,” says Tom. “Our endowment, along with other scholarship opportunities, helps them close their funding gaps.”
Tom has been a leader in the St. Louis alumni club since its inception, and he gladly took on the task of spreading the word, sharing on social media, and encouraging his fellow St. Louis Spartans to give. They were happy to oblige.
“Once the momentum kicked in,” he adds, “the whole day started to feel like one big crowdfunding effort, and the excitement was infectious.
Devon Barrett, '11