The Hurst gears up for Giving Day

The Hurst gears up for Giving Day

Annie Markel, Staff writer

One of Mercyhurst’s main principles is to serve others. The Sisters of Mercy, who founded the university, made a point to include giving to others as a core value within the university. There are many opportunities around Mer-cyhurst for community service. Annually, Mercyhurst holds a 24-hour fundraiser called Giving Day.

Giving Day is the main focus fundraiser for Mercyhurst Annu-al Fund (MAF). The Mercyhurst Annual Fund is an unrestricted fund that supports everything at the University. The funds help support the school’s functioning budget and funds student-faculty research. Additionally it keeps our campus looking beautiful as well.

The Mercyhurst Fund relies heavily on Giving Day for donations to complete its tasks. Giving Day also supports so many other programs and students at Mercyhurst University.

The donations from the fund-raiser support the scholarship fund and study abroad programs. Funds are also used to support our many sports teams and campus facilities, as well.

So where do these donations come from? Donations are generously given by alumni, parents, trustees, and students. Every generation gets involved. By calling in to donate, everyone can make a difference and help all the programs that Giving Day contributes to.

“Giving Day brings Lakers from all areas of the world, generations, and backgrounds together to celebrate what it means to be a Laker with a gift to Mercyhurst,” said Annual Giving Coordinator, Mitchell Marsh ‘20.

Giving Day was started in 2014, making this Mercyhurst’s 7th annual fundraiser as a way to bring alumni together.

However, this year, Giving Day will proceed a little differently. Due to COVID, this year, the 24-hour fundraiser will be all online. Another thing that will be different for the 2021 Giving Day is that we have an incredible anonymous donor who will be matching every donation. This means every donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000.

With the help of this generous anonymous donor, the impact of Giving Day can be doubled. For those currently unable to donate, that is totally fine. To help in a non-monetary way, one can share and spread the word about Giving Day.

Social media allows people to connect with each other, especially current students, alumni, and the greater Mercyhurst community. On the Mercyhurst Giving Day website, there is also a Social Media Toolkit this year. This is a super-easy way for those who want to help share to make sure that the right information such as links, hashtags, and proper accounts are being tagged. The toolkit even provides social media icons, cover/ banner photos, and profile photos for the Mercyhurst community to use.

Every share, post, and link matters and helps Mercyhurst to reach a bigger goal each year. By using the #HurstGivingDay and #HurstSocial, you can encourage engagement.

For those who can afford to donate monetarily, online payments are preferred through credit or debit cards. However, people can mail their generous donation to the university as well but must be postmarked on Giving Day to receive the dollar for dollar match. There will also be student callers working at the phone-a-thon to call alumni and ask for donations.

“I am really excited to man-age this campaign and so grateful for the support of all those mak-ing gifts throughout the day!” Mitchell Marsh said, “We are really excited for this day and to see members of the Mercyhurst community come together to support our campus and our students.”