Northwestern Foundation and Alumni Association’s seventh annual Thank-A-Thon will take place Nov. 6-7 from 3:30-7:30 p.m. in the Student Center.
The Thank-A-Thon is a chance for students, faculty and staff to write thank you cards and make phone calls to donors. The donors are also invited to join for conversation and a face-to-face ‘thank you.’
Relationship manager for the Northwestern Foundation and Alumni Association, Melissa Jenlink said, “We have over 325 students, coaches and staff who are going to come and join us in writing cards and making phone calls; it is a testament to the university to have so many student already signed up and excited to participate, but we will always take more.”
A student-leadership team also assists Jenlink in planning the Thank-A-Thon. They have been meeting weekly for the past two months to prepare for the event. The student-leadership team has reached out to different organizations across campus to get as much student involvement as they can. They have tried to give students an idea of what to expect this year and how it might be different than last year. For example, this year Jiffy Trip is providing $400 worth of Jiffy Trip gifts cards to be given away during the event.
“Our goal is to reach out to the donors who give money to the university to make scholarships happen,” Jenlink said.
Northwestern senior, Jason Alexander said, “I think we have a good group of students in this leadership committee who are excited to make this a great experience for everyone who is involved.”
Alexander has been involved with this event for two years before when he was playing football for Northwestern.
“We have had some great ideas thrown around,” Alexander said. “I think we have a great plan going forward.”
Senior Rachel Carter said, “I know this is probably the most organized the Thank-A-Thon has been, and it seems like it will be the best year yet.”
Sophomore Madison Wilson said she first go involved last year when she and a friend decided to go since they are both here on scholarship. They ended up getting put on phone calls, and stayed the entire time. She said they loved it so much because they got to hear from the donors how much they loved and cared for the students. The donors also shared their past experiences at Northwestern with Wilson.
“We are a pretty well oiled machine,” Wilson said. “Everyone here is so motivated, and we just want to give back to our donors because they give so much to us.”