Annual Phonathon ran last week
by Abbie Nehring l Contributor
Issue date: 11/11/09 Section: News
If you stopped by Blodgett any evening last week, you would have seen the annual Phonathon event taking place downstairs-recognizable by the occasional "woo-hoo!" breaking through the murmur of phone conversations when one of the volunteers managers to get a donation.
Every college has an Annual Fund, but Simon's Rock's Phonathon is a unique way to foster relationships with alumni and raise money for scholarships. Most alumni are enthusiastic to speak with current Simon's Rock students and confide in them how early college was a transformative experience in their lives.
Support comes in many forms. Getting a new e-mail address can be as important as a pledge or donation.
The Phonathon committee decided to try out a few innovations this year. "The biggest change this year has been the amount of training we do before-hand," says Alumni Affairs Associate Cheryl Mirer. "Everyone is required to come to one of the sessions. We really want to make sure everyone is prepared and has a great time."
Although the Office of Institutional Advancement plays an important role in coordinating the Phonathon, the student-comprised Phonathon Committee takes the lead in recruiting volunteers, obtaining raffle prizes and garnering campus-wide publicity.
Training happened the week before the Phonation rather than the evening of the event to ensure that the volunteers were well-practiced before they begin making calls.
About 60 students signed up this year and no one is allowed to participate without going through training. 45 have been trained and will be attending the event.
Phonathon committee member Lauren Dahlin says she enjoyed the training sessions: "The role-playing is the best part of the training sessions. We do it at the very end and everyone gets goofy and has a lot of fun."
The trained volunteers are as determined to have fun as they are to do business. "This year we'll have a bank of phones in the middle of Blodgett rather than separate stations in each room," says Phonathon committee member Kell Fillion-Wang. "It really emphasizes the sense of community we're building here."
Every college has an Annual Fund, but Simon's Rock's Phonathon is a unique way to foster relationships with alumni and raise money for scholarships. Most alumni are enthusiastic to speak with current Simon's Rock students and confide in them how early college was a transformative experience in their lives.
Support comes in many forms. Getting a new e-mail address can be as important as a pledge or donation.
The Phonathon committee decided to try out a few innovations this year. "The biggest change this year has been the amount of training we do before-hand," says Alumni Affairs Associate Cheryl Mirer. "Everyone is required to come to one of the sessions. We really want to make sure everyone is prepared and has a great time."
Although the Office of Institutional Advancement plays an important role in coordinating the Phonathon, the student-comprised Phonathon Committee takes the lead in recruiting volunteers, obtaining raffle prizes and garnering campus-wide publicity.
Training happened the week before the Phonation rather than the evening of the event to ensure that the volunteers were well-practiced before they begin making calls.
About 60 students signed up this year and no one is allowed to participate without going through training. 45 have been trained and will be attending the event.
Phonathon committee member Lauren Dahlin says she enjoyed the training sessions: "The role-playing is the best part of the training sessions. We do it at the very end and everyone gets goofy and has a lot of fun."
The trained volunteers are as determined to have fun as they are to do business. "This year we'll have a bank of phones in the middle of Blodgett rather than separate stations in each room," says Phonathon committee member Kell Fillion-Wang. "It really emphasizes the sense of community we're building here."
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
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posted 11/12/09 @ 6:26 PM EST
It's great to see that people are having fun and bringing in donations while fostering a sense of community at the same time.
E. Lynch
posted 11/12/09 @ 8:04 PM EST
You guys didn't call me. Bless your hearts!
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posted 11/26/09 @ 9:17 AM EST
Okey, I will consider signing up in the future in order to help out the community.
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posted 12/06/09 @ 8:31 AM EST
It is good that training happened the week before the Phonation rather than the evening of the event to ensure that the volunteers were well-practiced before they begin making calls. (Continued…)
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posted 12/15/09 @ 7:58 AM EST
It is great that The Phonathon committee decided to try out a few innovations this year.
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