Calling Campaign Connects Students and Alumni

The bi-annual Calling Campaign is a way for current Fairmont State students to connect with alumni and keep them informed about the many exciting opportunities on campus.

The goal of the campaign, which began on April 2, is to increase financial support for student scholarship at Fairmont State. Twenty students are involved in the effort to reconnect with alumni. Students plan to raise $12,000 during this spring cycle of calling. Gifts benefit the following funds: the Folklife Kennedy Barn Restoration Fund; Charlotte Bowman Flynn Dietary Management Matching Challenge, which matches alumni gifts dollar for dollar; and the Fairmont State Futures Fund, which is for the institution's greatest needs and opportunities.

"Our bi-annual calling program is an opportunity to introduce this generation of students to previous generations," said Crystal Stevens, Director of Alumni Affairs.

"Students learn valuable and marketable job skills during the campaign, make some extra money and get a chance to talk to our successful alumni. They really enjoy the camaraderie during the program and many come back year after year to participate."

Stevens credits area businesses for their contributions to the campaign.

"The business community gets behind this project by providing calling incentives and meals for the students," she said. "Their in-kind gifts allow us to keep the costs associated with the campaign low so that we are able to direct all of the proceeds to student scholarship. To say thank you, a list of all of the contributing business is posted online at www.fairmontstate.edu at the Alumni link."

Nathan Erikson, a junior finance major, and Betty Sutphin, an American Sign Language major, both work with the campaign.

"As a member of the campaign, I am honored to have been given the opportunity to speak with such outstanding alumni," Erikson said. "They are eager to give back to the institution that provided them with a solid foundation to build their careers. I appreciate their willingness to contribute to student scholarship."

"It is a great blessing to attend Fairmont State and I feel that I owe my time and effort to the community, the institution, the students and the alumni," Sutphin said. "In joining the phone campaign, I am able to share and expand my commitment, while interacting and building relationships with those who make my experience at Fairmont State possible. I am grateful for their continued interest in the institution and for their gifts to student scholarship."

Students will continue to make phone calls through April 13. Faculty, staff and administration will make calls from April 17-20. The calls are made five days a week, Sunday through Thursday from 6-9 p.m.

The mission of the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc., is to support, through ethical stewardship, the mission of Fairmont State University and Fairmont State Community & Technical College. The Foundation identifies, establishes and cultivates meaningful relationships with Fairmont State alumni and potential and existing funding constituencies to meet contributor needs while securing funds and supporters for priority objectives identified by its Board of Directors.

To support the student calling campaign with a gift, call Chris Morgan, Director of Foundation Operations and Finances, at (304) 367-4788 or toll-free at (866) 372-2586. Gifts are accepted over the phone with a Visa or MasterCard or additional information may be mailed via U.S. Post.