Thank you letters acknowledge tuition donors
USU students wrote letters of appreciation to university donors, who help make up the 84 percent of total tuition that students are not required to pay.
Students, alumni, faculty, staff and the public were invited to thank USU donors by writing letters last Wednesday just outside the Evan N. Stevenson Ballroom in the TSC from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Students only pay about 16 percent of their tuition, the other 84 percent comes from private donor support and federal grant support,” said Elizabeth Bare, adviser for the Student Giving Committee.
The event was organized by the Student Giving Committee, which runs the Aggies For Change program, said committee member Carlie Pennington.
“We are 16 percent through the school year, so we are holding this event now because students pay 16 percent of their tuition,” Bare said.
Participants signed up before writing their letter and included a club they belong to or any on-campus club of their choice next to their name on the sign-up sheet. There was a competition to see which club had the highest number of participants because the one with the most thank-you letters written received a prize of $200. The Honors Students won the prize after taking the lead for most of the event, Pennington said.
Papers with guidelines for writing the letters were available.The guidelines included ideas for the introduction, body and closing of the letter, and asked students to include their major, year and involvement at USU.
Those who wrote letters of appreciation received a card for free Aggie ice cream and a button that read “I said thank you.”
“Students don’t realize that they only pay a small percentage of their tuition,” said committee chair Tessa Goodall. “They don’t feel like they need to give back.”
Money from donors supports student scholarships, tuition assistance, student travel and participation in competitions and conferences, cultural opportunities, equipment for labs and classrooms, construction and enhancement of learning facilities, lectures, performances and exhibits.
The committee was also passing out piggy banks at the event. Laurel Mallonee, volunteer coordinator for the Student Giving Committee, said the club is handing out the small plastic piggy banks for students to put their spare change in. All the proceeds from the change collected will go back to the student body towards scholarships and events, Goodall said. The coins from the piggy banks are collected once every semester. This semester, they will be collected on Thursday, Oct. 21 and Friday, Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the TSC patio. There will be a paper mache piggy bank there, Bare said. Those who are interested in participating can pick up a piggy bank in Bare’s office, Old Main room 110.
She said the Student Giving Committee is in charge of the senior celebration, senior gift and senior events. The senior gift for 2011 has not yet been chosen. More information on the gift can be found on Facebook by searching for USU Senior Gift. Two weeks ago, the Student Giving Committee was in charge of ribbon cutting ceremony for last year’s senior class gift, which was a covered bike rack.
The Student Giving Committee can be found on Facebook by searching for USU Aggies for Change.
Those interested in joining the Student Giving Committee can e-mail Goodall at t.a.good@aggiemail.usu.edu.
– marissa.bodily@aggiemail.usu.edu