Our
campus community will celebrate Marlin Spirit Day on October 4, the
Wednesday before Homecoming. I hope you will join me in sporting your
favorite Virginia Wesleyan gear—and don’t forget to snap and share a
photo using the hashtag #marlinspiritday.
There’s another very important way
to show your Marlin spirit in the coming weeks: supporting the annual
faculty and staff campaign.
On Monday, October 2, we will kick
off the I LOVE VWU campaign—an opportunity for faculty and
staff to give back to the University. As an institution, we work
diligently to meet goals in academics, enrollment, fundraising, student
life, and finance/administration. Every member of the faculty and staff
is invaluable to achieving these goals, and I am grateful to each of you
for the efforts you put forth daily.
Creating a culture of
philanthropy on campus is also critical to achieving our institutional
goals. As a private institution, we rely heavily on the support of
alumni, parents, friends, and the community, but the philanthropy of
others begins with our own Marlin culture. Let’s make a pledge together
that we will demonstrate to our students, alumni, parents, friends, and
colleagues that ours is a culture of philanthropy, generosity, and love.
In
the coming days, you will receive a letter about the campaign at your
home address from our Annual Giving and Alumni Relations team. You will
also receive weekly emails from Kelly Cordova, Assistant Director of
Annual Giving and Alumni Relations, with information about how to simply
and quickly make a gift or pledge to the I LOVE VWU campaign.
You may also make your gift online today at www.vwu.edu/giveonline. Those who make gifts before 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, September 28, will be entered into a special “early bird” raffle.
Thank
you to our Campaign Building Chairs for their commitment and
leadership: Elaine Aird, Beth Clarke, Dr. Joyce Easter, Sue Erickson,
Chris Francis, Randy Lott, Dr. Bryson Mortensen, Dr. Maynard Schaus,
Jason Seward, Kelly Sprouse, Dr. Kathy Stolley, and Dr. Craig Wansink.
Together, we will continue to build on our current successes and create a brighter future for our students and our community.
