The Volunteer for Carleton Phone-a-thon was quite an event this year, bringing in a record-breaking attendance of 493 students. This annual phone drive took place over the course of several days third week. A small army of student volunteers packed the Great Hall in the evenings, manning massive phone banks to call up alumni.
To put the number 493 in perspective, that represents nearly a quarter of Carleton’s student population. Is there any other single event that an entire quarter of the school participates in? That’s not even taking into account the fact that many students came to volunteer on multiple days, in which case the number of visits is over nine hundred.
The student volunteers called alumni to remind them about the Alumi Annual Fund and why their donations are so important for Carleton’s budget. Shy? Not a problem! Volunteers also helped writing postcards of thanks to alumni who had already donated. What might have been a chore if approached with the wrong sort of attitude morphed into a great big volunteering party. Alumni Annual Fund organizers ordered in pizza for the volunteers and their was an air of excitement and friendly competition as they competed to raise the most funds.
Ryan Smith ’09 enjoyed the experience. “I thought it went well… It was a lot of fun… You could do it with all your friends.”
On Friday, the final day of the event, there was both a live auction and a silent auction of prizes for the volunteers. Students could bid on the goodies with tickets, which represented the number of dollars they had helped raise. Some of the prizes were donated goods such as quick breads and gift certificates to local businesses, but the star item of the evening had to be the Amazon Kindle. It went for 188 tickets.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the annual Volunteer for Carleton drive. Rob Herrick of the Alumni Annual Fund estimates the money it raises accounts for 8% of Carleton’s operating budget. Alumni donations are especially important now, with colleges around the nation losing considerable chunks of their endowments.
“We’re anticipating it being a tough year, but recent success gives us hope.”
Over all, though, the annual event is as much of a bonding ritual as it is about raising funds: “Even if we didn’t raise any money, it’s about the students connecting with the alumni.”
