02/20/2020
Hannah Boucher | staff writer
After a year of preparation, the team behind the annual Duquesne Day of Giving returns on Feb. 20 for its fifth year — ready to raise money.
The Duquesne Day of Giving is an annual event that encourages students, staff, alumni, faculty and community members to raise money that goes right back to Duquesne University and its students.
The person behind this school-wide event is David Jakielo, a Duquesne faculty member and alumnus. Each year, Jakielo, along with his team of content creators and promoters, work year-round, preparing for the big day.
The annual Day of Giving is promoted by ambassadors who sign up to help out with the event. The team is made up of Duquesne alumni, and this year, there are more than 100 official ambassadors.
“This is a way that they can acknowledge that [Duquesne] played a big role in their success, and they want to give back to that. They also want to help play a role so that today’s students have a similar experience,” Jakielo said.
There is a Duquesne Day of Giving website, which includes all of the event information, a countdown clock and links to the social media pages. People can also see the different ways they can donate. The two main fundraising options are the dollar-for-dollar and participation challenges.
Donors can choose to give money to whatever area they deem fit Each of the schools at Duquesne have their own fundraising challenges, but there are also scholarship funds and organizations that can be found on the website.
On top of the fundraising challenges, there will also be the happy hour at Red Ring on Feb. 20 from 4 to 6 p.m.
Allen Fry, a third year music performance and business major, has been very active in the Duquesne Day of Giving for the past two years, raising money for the Duquesne pep band. The money donated from the previous years helped the band purchase new equipment and start a drumline.
“I have seen it open up opportunities for students that they would not otherwise have readily available for them,” Fry said.
Emily Stock has been on both sides of the Day of Giving. While she is now a media relations specialist, Stock graduated from Duquesne in 2017 from the School of Liberal Arts, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations. On the Day of Giving, she plans to encourage those around her to help out as much as they can, in whatever way possible.
“As an alumni, it’s giving back to a place that has given me so many memories. Now that I am working, I see the other side of it, and I see how fundraising is important,” Stock said.
Jakielo, Fry and Stock all stressed how vital donating time is to the success of the event because even if someone cannot donate money, someone else who sees a post about the Day of Giving may feel inclined to contribute.
“Simply sharing it — by definition — is getting involved. One donation can make a difference for the university, faculty and students,” Fry said.