Members of the senior class had an opportunity to give back to Saint Vincent at the Senior One Stop Shop on Monday, April 23.
Seniors were encouraged to donate their $7 mailbox fee back to the college at the fair. Students pay the fee at the beginning of their first year at Saint Vincent when they receive their mailbox key, and are told they can be reimbursed at the time of graduation.
Each year, the senior class can choose to donate their collective reimbursements, and donations have totaled over $2,000 in past years.
The Office of Alumni Relations and senior class president, Lucas Good, a senior marketing major, worked to coordinate this year’s mailbox donation.
In the past, seniors have voted on what charities they wanted their class gift to benefit. This year, students have the opportunity to choose their desired charity individually.
“We wanted to give people an option on where they wanted to see their money go”, Good said.
Seniors were able to pick the charities they wished to impact at the Senior One Stop Shop. The event is sponsored by Events and Conferences, and gives graduating seniors an opportunity to meet with representatives from various campus offices.
Students were able to vote on whether or not their donation should impact Bearcat B.E.S.T, Student First, Forward Always Forward or a write-in option chosen by the individual.
“Your money goes to whichever option you choose, so your money is benefitting whatever cause you feel is most important. We picked the charities after discussing what we thought would benefit future students the most,” Good said.
Good also stated that he tried to differentiate this year’s graduating class from past senior gifts.
“We don’t want to continuously put money solely into Student First Fund, because that’s not really spreading the wealth around to different charities,” he said. “We hope that if students have another idea that we could be missing, they will write in that option about what our money should go towards”.
Students were excited to learn they were able to choose the cause they wanted their donation to go towards.
Katie Egan, a senior marketing major, believes the donations should go to the Bearcat B.E.S.T fund, and hopes the money could help to continue the transitional program.
“I would love to see our donations help the program grow”, Egan said.
Cleona Helton, a senior communication major, feels that the money could go to a tangible gift that students would enjoy every day.
“I would like to see a gift that could be remembered as the Class of 2018’s gift,” Helton said.
She felt that the money could be donated to improve areas on campus.
“Maybe we could donate the money to fix up Sebastian’s garden, or create a place on campus that is animal friendly for our therapy dogs and student service dogs,” Helton said.
A student who wished to remain anonymous expressed that their money should directly impact students instead of an “overreaching” charity that could receive more money from wealthy donors.
Scott Becker, a senior theology major, also believes the gift should help to improve the community.
“I suggested that we donate a beehive to either Winnie Palmer or the Monastery so that we can support the beautiful wildlife we have on and around campus, as well as the contribute to the environment as a whole,” Becker said.
Becker also said, “a long-lasting physical gift is more beneficial than a charitable donation. With a physical gift, the class gets to come back and see what good they’ve done. A donation, while helpful, has little sentiment behind it.”
Good will also be taking student recommendations at the Alumni Relations table during the event.
“Regardless of which charity is chosen, our hope is that when you come to the Senior One Stop Shop, you feel charitable enough to donate the $7, because your money is going to a cause that will help future students,” Good said.
The One Stop Shop is an annual event sponsored by Events and Conferences.
Photo: stvincent.edu