ASU students give back during ‘Week of Giving’

ALBANY — In honor of Albany State University’s “Week of Giving,” current students have been given the opportunity to make monetary contributions themselves.

ASU’s Week of Giving initiative, which began Saturday, culminates Friday on Founder’s Day. The event is an invitation to students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents and friends to give back through donations and personal involvement. On Tuesday, a table was set up in the university’s student center and, as students were milling about for Spring Bling Week, which is also taking place, they were encouraged to make a contribution.

Sophomore Waneisha Francis helped promote Tuesday’s portion of the drive, saying she tried to drive home the importance of supporting each other through giving, no matter what the amount.

“We can help each other if we put forth the effort and the money,” she said. “Five dollars isn’t a lot, so if we spend that to help enhance one another, it can go so far. So, I was really throwing out percentages and numbers to show them that if we just remain dedicated that we could raise so much.”

She added that Tuesdays are usually slower days in the student center, but there was a unusually high amount of traffic, which led to a successful first day of donations.

The donations go towards needs-based scholarships. Andrew Floyd, ASU’s director of development, said that with this particular fundraiser, students are able to see first-hand just how far their donations can go because some of their peers are the direct beneficiaries.

Floyd added that while this was the first event of its kind to take place at ASU, he was already seeing results, particularly in students’ attitudes towards giving.

“The students started doing it and some of them became fundraisers themselves and they started getting into the act of encouraging their fellow students to give, and that was kind of cool and exciting to see as well,” he said.

Francis added that she hopes to see that attitude spread throughout the campus.

“As this week progresses, I hope to see them take it as serious as I am and to continue to get informed on how much this can benefit not only us, but students that come in after us,” she said. “We have cousins and little sisters and brothers that come in after us at ASU because they see then what we do here, so I hope they gain the knowledge on how important it really is.”

Donations are currently being accepted at giveto.asurams.edu.