Over the past weeks, the Senior Class Gift Committee has been working diligently to raise funds for the Class of 2021 Senior Class Gift, in preparation for the remaining months here at Hurst.

As part of the tradition of celebrating 100 Days to Graduation, which fell this year on Feb. 5, the committee has been selling 100 Days Goodie Bags, which could be purchased by a family member or friend for this year’s seniors.

On Feb. 5 the bags were handed out to seniors as a surprise to celebrate their final days at the Hurst.60 goodie bags were sold at the cost of $15 each. Included in each bag were candy, snacks, and coupons for places on campus such as The Roost and the Bookstore. All profits from the bags go directly toward the Class Gift scholarship.

“We are super happy that the Mercyhurst community is coming together, especially through such trying times, for such a great cause. This pandemic has presented many challenges to us, and we have had to get very creative on ways to fundraise virtually. It is amazing how far we’ve come through and we are getting so close to our goal,” said Senior Class Gift PR coordinator, Claire Orr.

In selling the bags, the Senior Class Gift Committee hopes to get closer to a special goal that they have been working towards. The committee hopes to raise $15,000 towards an endowed scholarship. Should they reach this target amount, a Mercyhurst alum has agreed to donate another $10,000, totaling $25,000 for the Senior Class Gift Committee “Beat the Odds” scholarship.

The more people donate, the closer they are to reaching their goal. Additionally, because this is an endowed scholarship, it will only continue to grow. Marina Boyle, the Senior Class Gift Committee chair, is hopeful about reaching, and possibly exceeding the goal. “At the beginning of the year, $15,000 seemed like a very tall order, especially in these pandemic times. However, as Lakers do, so many seniors and their parents, friends, and fellow alumni of the Mercyhurst family have come forward and been so generous in helping to secure Kenny’s legacy through this gift. As we pass the 100 Days to Graduation mark, we have already hit $10,000 in fundraising. This means that we will hopefully exceed our goal and help many future students through the scholarship in Kenny’s name in the future.”

The scholarship is named for Kenny Robinson ‘20. He was a Mercyhurst student, who, upon graduating in May 2020, tragically passed away. Kenny was an excellent athlete and a selfless teammate, both on and off the field. During his time at Mercyhurst, he was able to conquer his own personal obstacles and make a change. The student who receives the scholarship will honor Kenny by “beating the odds,” just like he did.“We are very thankful for any-one who has donated in any way. It’s great to be a part of something that will help many future students of Mercyhurst, and to help keep Kenny’s legacy alive on campus,” Orr said.

The next big event for the Senior Class will be the Senior Date Auction, to be held on March 15 in the MAC. Here students can bid on “dates” with a fellow senior who helps to auction off prizes in aid of the scholarship. Online ticket sales for this event will begin next week and seniors can start signing up to be a date. It was nice for seniors to receive these goodie bags as a small appreciation for everything they have gone through in the recent semesters.

The current state of the world is not pretty, and that is what the seniors will be facing upon graduation, so hopefully, in doing these little acts of kindness, we can remind them that no matter where they end up, Mercyhurst University will always be their home.