Class gift reaches goal before final event

Rebecca Dunphy, Staff writer

Congratulations are extended by the Mercyhurst community to the Senior Class Gift Committee, which successfully reached its goal of $12,000 for the Sister Lisa Mary McCartney Senior Class Gift Scholarship.

The committee has been fundraising since the beginning of the year, under Committee Chair Lynne Gillott.

“We utilized Senior Class Gift history and decided to partake in fundraisers that have been successful in the past and that we believe the senior class will enjoy,” said Gillott.

Senior Class Gift Committee events this year have included the Christmas bar crawl, Senior Week, the Seniors vs. Faculty/Staff Kickball game and the Spring bar crawl.

“As a committee member, I have had the chance to work both the Christmas and Spring bar crawl signups, advertise for our events by hanging up posters and posting information on social media, emcee the Senior Date Auction, and announce for the Seniors vs. Faculty/Staff kickball game, just to name a few,” committee member Morgan Wangler said.

The bar crawls and senior week activities have been the most successful fundraisers, allowing the group to surpass its goal by more than $200, with a total of $12,265 raised thus far.

A member of the Mercyhurst University Board of Trustees — Lev Kubiak — has graciously offered to match $10,000 toward the gift, bringing the class gift’s total to $22,265 as of now.

“This allowed us to create an endowed scholarship that will exist long after we have graduated from Mercyhurst University that will be rewarded to a multitude of future Lakers who meet the requirements of the scholarship,” said Gillott.

The gift of a scholarship was decided upon by President Michael T. Victor, the Office of Advancement, and the Senior Class Gift Committee. With the recent expansion of campus, many of the previous class’s contributions have been lost, prompting the committee to choose something that would continue even with the school’s growth.

“This gift will be a way for the Class of 2018 to be remembered at Mercyhurst University, and I am happy to have been a member of the committee that has worked so hard for the success of this gift,” said Wangler.

Those who still want to support the Senior Class Gift Committee and the Sister Lisa Mary McCartney Senior Class Gift Scholarship are invited to their Frogurtz fundraiser on May 3. A percentage of the business’s proceeds will go towards the Senior Class Gift.