YOU of A Gives Back on #GivingTuesday

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The Razorback family rocked the first ever #UofAGivingTuesday event held on Dec. 3. Students with the Class Gift Council handed out hot chocolate at the Union and Greek Theatre and encouraged their peers to give back. Faculty and staff members contributed and helped spread the word with Facebook and Twitter posts and #UNselfies. And alumni and parents jumped on the bandwagon too by making gifts in honor of friends and family members.

Together, the U of A community gave $5,790 in support of colleges and programs all across campus on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving alone. And, the #UofAGivingTuesday movement inspired an additional $15,000 in online donations over the next few days, bringing the total given online in the week following Black Friday and Cyber Monday to $20,874!

These gifts were designated in support of numerous colleges, academic departments and named scholarship funds, as well as groups like the University Libraries and the Razorback Band.

Staff member Helene Wommack made her gift to the Full Circle Campus Food Pantry. 

“I was pleased to participate in ‘Giving Tuesday’ as a counterbalance to all the hoopla about Christmas shopping coming earlier and earlier,” said Wommack. “Especially since there is so much pressure in our society that retailers felt the need to open on Thanksgiving Day! And I had the added pleasure of seeing my gift go further as my husband’s employer, Regions Bank, participates in the university’s matching gift program.”

Rebecca Moix, a junior in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, helped to spearhead the student effort on #UofAGivingTuesday.

“This university has given me so many opportunities over the past two and a half years,” said Moix. “I gave to empower other students to reach out and grasp those opportunities by giving to the organizations that have help shaped my college career. Our slogan is the ‘YOU of A,’ and the Class Gift Council demonstrates this by providing students with the option to give to what has impacted them."

The University of Arkansas was one of more than 10,000 nonprofit organizations worldwide to participate in the second annual #GivingTuesday movement. It was a meaningful way for Razorbacks to kick off the season of giving while supporting our very own students and programs with a tradition that’s sure to spark generosity for years to come.