This Giving Tuesday, more than 475 donors raised over $72,000 to support three initiatives committed to serving the community through education, access, and inclusion – the Meelia Center’s Access Academy, the Ernie Thorne ’34 Scholarship Fund for Racial Equality, and the Campus Ministry’s Anselmian B.R.E.A.K. program.
“I would like to thank everyone who participated in making our fifth annual Giving Tuesday such an incredible success,” said James Flanagan, senior vice president and chief advancement officer. “Their participation in this year's Giving Tuesday will have a lasting impact on these important initiatives.”
Giving Tuesday is a nationally recognized day of generosity held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving encouraging people to support philanthropic causes. This is the fifth year that Saint Anselm has participated in the Giving Tuesday movement, encouraging Anselmians, past and present, to collaborate and give back in impactful ways to the college.
Campus Ministry raised funds to support Anselmian B.R.E.A.K, formerly known as Service & Solidarity, which engages Saint Anselm students in social justice education, relationship building, and advocacy through the lens of our Benedictine identity. Campus Ministry’s goal is to educate students to become more keenly aware of each person’s innate dignity and our shared common humanity.
“Campus Ministry’s Anselmian B.R.E.A.K. is a program in which our students travel throughout the country and beyond to immerse themselves in different communities where they can take lessons learned in the classroom and put them into practice,“ said Dr. Susan Gabert ’91, assistant dean of students and director of Campus Ministry.
The Ernie Thorne ’34 Scholarship for Racial Equality, named for the College’s first Black graduate, aims to reduce barriers to an Anselmian education by making it more affordable to underrepresented students.
“The Ernie Thorne ’34 Scholarship for Racial Equality was created to help remove economic barriers so that students can have the opportunity for a Saint A’s education,” explained Dr. Ande Diaz, Chief Diversity Officer. “In today’s society more and more people are thinking about removing barriers for structural inequality. Contributing to Giving Tuesday is one small way people can do that.”
The Meelia Center’s Access Academy is an after-school academic program serving Manchester high school students typically underrepresented in higher education (e.g., low-income, first generation, diverse student populations, and students not living at home) who take classes at Saint Anselm College taught by student volunteers.
“Access Academy has a variety of layers of impact,” said Nicole Lora ’06, director of the Meelia Center for Community Engagement. “It impacts the high school students who get to have access to the resources on our campus and college mentors. Helping them build a connection across differences and create a welcoming space in line with our Benedictine hospitality.”
Saint Anselm College would like to thank the generous donors who provided challenge gifts during the campaign: Elizabeth Condron ’04 & Heather (Martin) Condron ’04, Ande Diaz, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England, Maire Lynch ’13, and Shane Smith ’13 and Katharine Smith ’14.
A special thank you to the Annual Giving team: Julie O’Connor, Shelagh Daly, and Audrey Gauss; the entire Advancement team; Dr. Susan Gabert ’91 and Riley Casey ’15 in Campus Ministry; Nicole Lora ’06 in the Meelia Center; Dr. Ande Diaz; and the College Communications and Marketing team.