A Drop in the Bucket
An audible clink….clink….clink resounded throughout Twichell Auditorium as members of the Class of 2012 crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. The clinks elicited a few murmurs and muffled giggles as the audience tried to determine what was going on.
“I sincerely hope this becomes a standing graduation tradition”
In a powerful act of sisterhood and with true Converse flair, the newest members of the Converse Alumnae Association were dropping gold dollar coins into a silver bucket as their first official gifts to the Converse Annual Fund.
“The Class of 2012 has always acted as leaders on campus and pioneered new initiatives,” says class president Hilary Berry. “I knew they would be excited about the opportunity to leave one more mark on Converse before we graduated.”
Diplomas in hand and appreciation for the transformative Converse experiences deeply imprinted on their hearts, these women recognize the power of Annual Fund participation. On February 20, they celebrated “Philanthropy Day,” marking 67% of the way through their academic year when student tuition runs out and private gifts take over paying for their Converse education. For students, the reality that private gifts support more than a third of their Converse experience is often stunning.
“We believe in the message of the ONE campaign. It takes every one of us to make Converse grow and thrive,” Berry says. “We hope that this will instill in our classmates the desire to give to the Annual Fund in the future. We also hope to remove the mindset that young alumnae do not give back to the College because they do not have the funds, but rather impart to our fellow alumnae that anyone can give. It really does make a difference.”
Their legacy, the new alumnae hope, will be a new tradition of every new alumna committing to support her alma mater—at whatever level she can— every year.
“I sincerely hope this becomes a standing graduation tradition at Converse. The Class of 2012 has always loved and fully participated in Converse traditions, and I think it is right that our first act as alumnae was to set a new tradition. We hope alumnae will not wait to begin giving once they have a stable job or have finished graduate school, but rather to start now in small ways, like with a gold coin in a bucket at graduation.”