USU asks students to open their pockets
The USU Advancement office will be at Day on the Quad Sept. 1, handing out plastic piggy banks to students in order to help students give back to the university.
The new program, Aggies for Change, is a collaborative effort with the Advancement office and Dr. James Morales, vice president of student services.
“The initiative came because we are trying to help students realize they can make a difference without putting forth a lot of effort,” Morales said.
Elizabeth Bare, the assistant director of the Aggie Fund, said Aggies for Change is the first all-student giving program at Utah State.
“We are hoping to educate students in philanthropy and the impact they can have,” she said.
Bare said USU Advancement handed out plastic piggy banks to Connections students last week, and over the next couple of weeks they will be getting them to the rest of the student body, starting with Day on the Quad.
The goal is for students to use the banks and fill them with their spare change.
“You don’t have to donate thousands of dollars,” said Tessa Goodall, a senior in exercise science who is serving as the Student Giving Chair, “just your change can make a difference.”
All the money raised will go to support student priorities, Bare said.
“We are going to put it toward whatever will benefit the greatest number of students,” she said.
A vote will be held for students to decide what the money will be used for, Bare said. Some ideas include scholarships, specific college funds, or the general university fund.
“We want the students to be able to see the results of their donations,” Morales said.
“We want it to go toward something of high visibility and high interest.”
However, Morales said the money is secondary.
“Mostly,” he said, “we want students to see themselves as agents of change.”
Utah State University Charter Credit Union is sponsoring the program, and donated all the piggy banks, Bare said. None of the money raised by students will be benefiting the extensive university fund-raising campaign.
Each semester, University Advancement will have a collection day where students can bring all the change to a central location. This will also provide students an opportunity to see all the money that has been collected so far, which will hopefully encourage them to donate more, Bare said.
In addition to the money raised by students, two unidentified companies have committed to matching the donations, Bare said.
University Advancement is hoping to make this a campus-wide project. Many student organizations, such as Student Alumni and ASUSU, are joining the effort to increase awareness and participation.
“We don’t want to be just another student organization,” Bare said. “We want to appeal to everyone. We want it to be a part of the whole student body experience.”
In the past, students have shown resistance to donating money to the university. They feel they already pay too much in tuition and fees and shouldn’t have to pay anything else, Bare said.
Bare reminded students that even though tuition increased 7.5 percent last year, the money they pay only covers about 18 percent of the actual cost of a semester.
“We don’t want you to go into debt to donate,” she said, “but just the small change that usually goes unnoticed can make a difference.”
“Hopefully this can help students realize how important their education is,” Goodall said, “and get them in the habit of giving back.”
“Our main point as a program is for students to understand that if everyone gives a little, we can make a huge difference,” Bare said.
“We can do it,” she said. “I believe in the Aggies.”
– megan.allen@ggiemail.usu.edu