The College Relations staff along with 120 students worked to call more than eight thousand alumni to raise money for the Berea Fund during the annual Spring Alumni Phonathon held March 8-26.

The Berea Fund directly supports operational costs at Berea. This year's goal is $4 million. We hope that in the future, an increased percentage of the Berea Fund will be raised through the phonathons. We have a supportive alumni base and we thank them for their support of our students and the work and mission of the college.

Alumni Phonathon Total last five years :

99-00 - $15,266
00-01 - $33,831
01-02 - $24,861
02-03 - $59,174
03-04 - $68,480 (these are pledges and not funds received as the others)

We had 1,405 pledges this year out of 8,445 alumni solicited. We had many individuals and clubs/organization participate this year. The clubs that participated were the Bonner Scholars for First Book and for a trip to Costa Rica, ACE League, Black Student Union, Country Dancers, Hispanic Student Association and Women Uniting for Peace. In one night, if a club had 24 callers they could earn $360 for their organization for 3 hours. The phonathon is a great and easy way to raise funds for your club.

The students who called this year did a tremendous job and made this phonathon very successful, but there is always room for improvement. Next year, we hope to be in a more caller friendly environment and have an atmosphere of celebration to help motivate our volunteers and our alumni to give to their alma mater. I think that the sky is the limit as to what we can accomplish in the coming years.

*This article was written in part by Chris Schill, Assistant to the President, Berea Fund Gift Officer .