By Raven Ash

Quincy University students and staff have former alumni to thank for their campus facilities, programs and scholarships as a result of a campaign on campus called “Phonathon”.

The Phonathon campaign is made up of a group of students under the direction of the university’s Office of Advancement that is responsible for fundraising for the QU Fund by reaching out to alumni.

“If you look around you, in your classrooms, dorm rooms, athletic fields, labs…everything on campus, that all had to come from somewhere. There are faculty, staff, alumni from 10 years ago, 30 years ago, even 60 years ago, and friends of the university that work hard day in and day out to make sure that you have the best Franciscan based education that we can possibly provide,” Pilar Yates Brumbaugh, coordinator of annual giving and alumni services, said.

The QU Fund is a project each year that is intended to collect monetary donations from former Hawks.  Money collected by the QU Fund is used to produce and maintain university campus advancements, academics programs, scholarships, residence life etc. The QU Fund has reached the 1 million dollar mark in each of the past eight years.

By participating in Phonathon, current students get the opportunity to connect with alumni and better Quincy University.

This group of students works to link Quincy University with potential donors by working in the Office of Advancement after hours, making phone calls to former QU students.

Phonathon callers have two responsibilities with each call they make.

A caller’s first responsibility is to update the alumnus’ contact information and notify the Office of Advancement of any life changes that the alumnus has shared (moved out of state, marriage, new children etc.). QU likes to stay up to date on its alumni long after its graduation!

Secondly, a caller’s responsibility is to interest the alumnus in donating, no matter the size of the gift, back to Quincy University.

Additionally, to connect further with alumni or friends of the university, a Phonathon caller will give updates on the university like information of recent grants or the announcement of QU’s new president.

Students involved in the campaign are happy to help because they see firsthand how Phonathon and the QU Fund benefit Quincy University’s campus.

“We could not run without the hard work of the Office of Advancement and our Phonathon campaign. I would absolutely recommend Phonathon to any student. It is a great way to learn about our school and develop relationships with alumni. This job has grown my appreciation for the university immensely and all those that are invested in its future,” Mary Argana, a Phonathon caller, said.

Not only is being a Phonathon caller rewarding, it is also a very flexible on campus job that allows busy students to have a flexible schedule consisting of a few nights a week during the evening hours.

“We are keeping the connections alive with the students that have graduated, it gives more feeling of a community, it is important not to forget our alumni,” Aleksandra Petrovic, another Phonathon caller, said.