Last week, UCCS’s Giving Tuesday initiative — Breaking Down Barriers to Student Success — focused on combating food insecurity, increasing access to counseling and scholarship aid and building a more inclusive campus.
Giving Tuesday is a designated global day on the first Tuesday of December, when people are encouraged to give back after holiday shopping that takes place on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
According to the UCCS Alumni Office, over 300 gifts were made and $70,000 raised throughout the day. And the gifts were still being counted.
Donations went to four separate funds, and donors were encouraged to support the fund of their choosing. They also had the option to contribute a one-time gift or a recurring donation for $5 a month.
These four designated funds were chosen to address student challenges in 2020:
This fund combats food insecurity at UCCS. The pantry is available to all enrolled students. According to an NCHA-ACHA survey at UCCS, around 25 percent of students responding to the survey report that they are facing food insecurity, and the fund helps to address this problem.
Currently, mental health services are in high demand, and this fund expands the capacity to help meet this demand. The fund assists students who are in need but have financial barriers to the $20 per visit cost. Services available to all students include individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, crisis/emergency interventions and consultations for concerned friends/roommates/instructors. Here is more information about the services and resources offered.
Faculty and Alumni Scholarship
This fund was developed by UCCS alumni and university friends to provide tuition assistance to students who are struggling to continue their education. According to the fund’s webpage, there has never been a time where there have been so few student jobs available, making it hard for students to fund their education. An anonymous donor pledged to match all other donations to this fund, in an amount up to $100,000.
The Multicultural Office for Student Access, Inclusiveness & Community (MOSAIC)
This fund is dedicated to supporting improvements to the physical space used at the office on campus. MOSAIC is dedicated to building an inclusive campus community by providing advocacy, support and community to all students who have been and are currently underserved.
There were a couple of challenges on Giving Tuesday, including a social media share contest in which participants could enter to win a $100 Amazon gift card. There was a coaster challenge for donators who decided to make a $5 per month recurring gift or a $60 one-time gift.
The AFCEA Rocky Mountain Chapter also pledged $40,000 to support scholarships if 250 donations of any dollar amount were made on Tuesday. The donor was so impressed by the number of people giving that they pledged an additional $10,000 in scholarship support if there were 50 more donors between 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Despite Giving Tuesday having passed, those who wish to donate are still able and encouraged to donate funds here.
