Thank-A-Donor Week Successful

In an effort to thank donors and raise awareness about philanthropy, the Office of Donor Relations hosted Thank-A-Donor Week, which provides students the chance to demonstrate their appreciation to the donors who make their education possible through supporting Yeshiva University. The program allows students to show their gratitude by hand-writing thank you letters to those who donate to YU, getting them to think about their supporters and connect with them.

The program, initiated last year, originally had students writing anonymous thank-you notes to donors. This year, however, students were able to see to which donor they were writing.

The notes are intended to leave an impression on donors. This year saw students on the Wilf and Beren campuses write over 1,500 cards in three days, a figure that gives Lynne M. Wester, Director of Stewardship and Donor Recognition, hope that donors will continue to support the next generation of YU students. Wester commented, “Some students faithfully came by every day to write a note, and some took cards with them and returned with multiple notes completed. The most notes written by a single student was twenty!”

Students were given incentive to write the cards with Yeshiva University branded yo-yos, highlighter pens, headphones, and a chance to win $100 in a raffle. But Student Life Committee Chair, Eli Shavalian (YC ’14), who volunteered to help get students to write the cards, said students were not just interested in the prizes. “We offered them the raffle ticket, the yo-yo, and many said, ‘no, I just want to do this to show the donors how much I appreciate them.’”

The Office of Donor Relations plans on having the successful event again next year, perhaps with student club involvement and a competition.