VIDEO: Excitement surrounds campaign launch

Submitted by admin on Mon, 11/03/2014 - 11:00am

Four hundred Western Washington University faculty, staff, students and special guests were on hand to hear WWU President Bruce Shepard officially launch the $60 million fundraising campaign, the largest in the history of the university, on Friday, Oct. 24.

Two Seattle-based events, a business forum meeting on Nov. 6 and gala dinner on Nov. 7, will take the campaign fully public.

At the party on campus, guests entered a raffle to win great prizes. Winners were:

  • Benjamin Morgan [Student] - $25 WWU Bookstore Gift Card
  • Carl Smith [Student] - $25 Woods Coffee Gift Card
  • Jianying Zhang [Faculty] - $25 Viking Dollar Gift Certificate
  • Ani Harriso [Student] - $25 WWU Bookstore Gift Card
  • Kathryn Boyd [Staff] – Erin Baker’s Wholesome Baked Goods Gift Basket
  • Allison Long [Student] - $25 Viking Dollar Gift Certificate

One of the the favorite Philanthropy Week activities was showing gratitude to WWU donors, particularly to faculty and staff who give back. These three students took time out of their busy week to write a thank you note to a WWU donor during Philanthropy Week, were entered into a drawing and won:

  • Abbi Milner: $125 to bookstore
  • Micah Rubart: $125 to bookstore
  • Jessica Evans: Viking goodie bag (assorted WWU items)

The goal of the transformative $60 million Western Stands for Washington campaign – a multi-year, fundraising effort that is already impacting Western students, faculty and programs alike – is to affirm Western as one of Washington’s top universities, while extending its reach regionally and internationally.

At this stage, 60 percent of the $60 million target has already been reached – the running total recently passed more than $48 million – and the ongoing fundraising success encompasses an impressive range of alumni, faculty and community-generated philanthropy.

Contributions reflect the breadth and depth of what Western offers to its students, faculty and wider community as a diverse, dynamic public university. These include: a $1 million cash gift in support of Western’s new Institute for Energy Studies; a six-figure gift that has already established a Western-based international center for entrepreneurship; a multi-million dollar estate gift that will benefit, among others, the music, economics and biology departments; and a $1.5 million bequest for pre-med students.

The Western Stands for Washington campaign is being directed by the Western Washington University Foundation.

To find out more about the campaign, please visit the campaign website at WWU4WA.org. The campaign is also on Twitter and Facebook; check those sites for more information as the campaign progresses.