Giving Day

Tag: Giving Day

Give, Share, Shine: Lawrence University Hosting Fifth Annual Giving Day

Giving Day Logo promo
Lawrence’s Fifth Annual Giving Day takes place 10.10.18

Lawrence University’s fifth annual Giving Day premiers LIVE from campus on Wednesday, October 10.

Lawrence is making some exciting changes for Giving Day’s fifth anniversary, including introducing the use of Facebook Live and an exciting announcement for the Lawrence community. The show will still be live across campus this year, but the daytime portion of Giving Day will now feature individual segments that harness the power of social media. Giving Day will start by celebrating all things Lawrence with three interactive Facebook Live segments before the three-hour evening live show begins at 6 p.m.

The Giving Day kick-off starts at 9 a.m. CDT. Then, at 12:30 p.m., viewers will be treated to an inside look at one of the bedrock features of the Geology Department: the flume room. At 3:30 p.m., there will be a special edition of LU trivia. And, throughout the day, there will also be a mix of new giving, sharing, trivia and tagging Facebook challenges, which will unlock large amounts of Game Changer money.

Game Changers are a generous group of alumni, parents and friends who are providing matching funds as motivation for others to support the college. The day features two exciting matching opportunities: Gifts of any amount from the Classes of 2002–2022 will be matched with $500 and all other gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

The live show is still the heart of Giving Day. It will air from 6-9 p.m. with co-hosts Ken Anselment, vice president for enrollment and communication, and Caro Granner ’20. The live show will feature an exciting array of performances and guests, many of whom are direct beneficiaries of Lawrence Fund donations and who demonstrate the way funding assists faculty, students and programs on campus.

 

Giving Day showcases the power of the Lawrence community and what it can accomplish to provide transformative educational experiences to students from around the world.

Be sure to mark your calendar for Lawrence’s fifth annual Giving Day and to Give. Share. Shine. Give generously to the Lawrence Fund. Share the excitement using #LUGives. Shine by showcasing your pride in Lawrence University.

Give. Share. Watch. Live 10-hour webcast highlights fourth annual Giving Day

For everyone who has ever wondered what Lawrence University is all about, a LIVE, 10-hour webcast Wednesday, Oct. 11 will provide an insider’s look at some of the people and programs that make the university an interesting and vibrant place.

Lawrence’s fourth annual Giving Day event, which will be webcast live at go.lawrence.edu/givingday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., features interviews with faculty, administrators, accomplished alumni and students, including some who currently are studying abroad. There also will be nearly a dozen live musical performances, hands-on demonstrations and maybe a surprise guest appearance or two.Giving Day studio

Kasey Corrado, Lawrence’s social media director, will be back in the hostess chair for the fourth year in a row. She’ll be joined by Ken Anselment, dean of admissions and financial aid, who returns for his second stint as co-host.

“Even though this is our fourth annual Giving Day and we’ve gotten into a bit of a groove when it comes to the live show, there is still that undeniable excitement about what is going to take place when the red light goes on,” said Corrado, who calls Giving Day “her favorite day of the year at Lawrence.”

“I love meeting with guests and showcasing how they contribute to the Lawrence community in a variety of ways” she added. “We’ve put together another wonderful line-up of student musicians, leaders and athletes, alumni and staff. I’m looking forward to sharing their stories with our audience.”

Anselment, whose lone battle scar from his initial Giving Day hosting duties — a scratchy throat from over talking — admitted that will serve as a helpful reminder to keep the focus on the guests.

“Giving Day is about letting members of the Lawrence community shine in all their multi-interested, multi-talented ways,” said Anselment. “My job is to set them up and let them be at their brightest.”

It’s the surprises that come with hours of planned, yet improvised, programming, where some of the best moments happen, said Anselment.

STudent musicians performing on Giving Day
Musical performances are always a staple of Lawrence’s Giving Day webcast.

“I knew last year the day was going to be special during our very first segment when President Burstein picked up the pom-poms and shook them right along with the dance team. Now that’s commitment,” he said, adding that getting lifted by Lawrence dance instructor Margaret Paek— who is about half his size — was a lesson in grace and physics “I won’t soon forget.”

An eclectic cast of Lawrence “celebrities” scheduled to visit with Corrado and Anselment include:
• President Mark Burstein

• Gary Vaughan, discussing Lawrence’s innovation and entrepreneurship program, including a presentation from a member of last spring’s winning team at The Pitch Competition.

• Amy Ongiri from the film studies program, with staff videographer Chris Gore-Gammon, who will give a virtual reality demonstration.

• Copeland Woodruff talking opera

• Coaches from the athletic department

• Biologist Israel Del Toro discussing the Pollinator Project.

• Performances by the Faculty Brass, Cantala women’s choir, an ensemble of 19 cellists, and others.

• The student bands Sol Studios and The Embers as well as singer Bernard Lilly, a student from the Academy of Music and the student duet Jerry Wang and Eva Tourangeau.

Garrett Katerzynske, Lawrence’s director of video production, not only juggled most of the proverbial chain saws in lining up the guests for this year’s production, he also steps into the director’s chair for the first time.

“The live show is a marathon of technical demands and I’ll be positioned at the epicenter of the creative storm, directing crew back stage and talent on screen,” said Katerzynske. “Beautiful moments and unexpected issues can unfold simultaneously and if we’re lucky, we’ll spin problems into happy accidents. The cameras keep rolling and the results are always entertaining.”

In scouring the campus the past several months for guests, Katerzynske said he uncovered some incredible stories and witnessed many remarkable performances.

A chemistry demonstration on Giving Day
Hands-on demonstrations always add an element of the unknown to the Giving Day webcast.

“The faculty and students on this campus surprise me every year,” he said. “I can’t wait to watch everything come together in the studio.”

Lawrence held its first Giving Day in 2014 as a one-day-only fundraising event for alumni and friends to show their support for Lawrence, its programs and students. Since that first event, Giving Day has generated more than $3.7 million from more than 6,400 students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of the university.

Many of the guests appearing on the webcast are grateful beneficiaries of the generosity of Giving Day donors and serve as examples of the way funding assists faculty, students and programs on campus.

As in previous years, Lawrence Giving Day 2017 has been made possible by a generous group of alumni, parents and friends who have committed to be “Game Changers,” providing matching funds as motivation for others to support the college.

“Giving Day’s goal isn’t just to raise money, although that is an important aspect,” said Kayla Schumacher, Lawrence’s director of annual giving. “This is a chance for everyone in the Lawrence community to come together for 24 hours and celebrate the things they care about here.

“The entire community is encouraged to take advantage of the fantastic giving challenges on Giving Day,” Schumacher added. “We hope participation in the day continues growing this year as more members of our community choose to give back. For the fourth time, Lawrence will show the world what we can accomplish when we all come together in just one day.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Giving Day: A 12-hour live celebration of all things Lawrence

With two smash hits to its credit, Lawrence University looks to make it three in a row with its third edition of Giving Day.

A photo of Lawrence University Giving Day co-host Kasey Corrado and art professor Rob Neilson creating a face mold.
Giving Day can be a learning experience as co-host Kasey Corrado found out in 2015 when she worked with art professor Rob Neilson to create some living art — a face mold.

From athletics to art, dance to diversity, physics to philosophy, virtually everything you want to know about what’s new and interesting at Lawrence will be discussed Tuesday, Nov. 15 during the college’s third annual 12-hour Giving Day extravaganza.

The 9 a.m.-to-9 p.m. show will be webcast LIVE at go.lawrence.edu/givingday and will feature dozens of special guests and performers from all corners of the campus throughout the day. Lawrence President Mark Burstein, dance instructor Margaret Paek, theatre director Timothy Troy, Kimberly Barrett, dean of diversity and inclusion, classics professor Randall McNeil, the Lawrence Fiddle Club and Porky’s Groove Machine are among those who will share their insights, perspectives and talents.

Kasey Corrado, Lawrence’s director of social media, returns for her third year as “ringmaster” of the show. She will be joined by first-time co-host Ken Anselment, dean of admissions and financial aid.

While a 12-hour live gig is definitely a challenge, Corrado calls Giving Day “her favorite day of the year at Lawrence.”

“When you’re given that signal that you’re ‘live,’ it slowly but surely sinks in that you have a marathon and not a sprint ahead of you,” said Corrado. “But this is such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all that is Lawrence. In 12 hours, we’re able to showcase current students, connect with alumni, interact with faculty, talk with staff, and of course, share appreciation for our generous donors.

“As a co-host, I enjoy experiencing all the excitement and energy of the day,” she added. “I always come away from Giving Day completely amazed at the amount of love and support Lawrence has not only from people on campus but from all over the world.”

A photo of Lawrence University faculty saxophonists Sumner Truax and Steven Jordheim playing saxophones on Lawrence Giving Day in 2015.
Great music is a staple of the Giving Day live show as faculty saxophonists Sumner Truax and Steven Jordheim proved last year.

Being in front of a camera is nothing new for Anselment, who previously has “starred” in a pair of Lawrence April Fool’s Day videos, but he admits those productions weren’t exactly perfect preparation for a 12-hour stint in front of the camera eye.

“I’ve stood behind college fair tables for four hours at a time and I’ve run a handful of half marathons, but I have never tried to do all of that in one day,” said Anselment, a 12-year veteran of admissions and financial aid operations at Lawrence.

“My job will be to help our viewers get a sense of how engaging, interesting and fun our community is and that is best done by letting our guests shine as brightly as they can,” added Anselment, a former college cheerleader. “I plan to bring all that enthusiasm to Giving Day without, of course, my old cheerleading uniform.”

Lawrence held its first Giving Day in 2014 as a one-day-only fundraising event for alumni and friends to show their support for Lawrence and its programs. The first year, with the help of “game changers” who promised to match gifts, raised $1.1 million for the college. Last year, more than 2,300 donors generated $1.36 million during the second Giving Day event.

For this year’s event, more than 140 alumni, parents and friends have agreed to serve as “game changers” by providing matching funds to motivate others to support the college and its students according to Ben Campbell, Lawrence’s director of annual giving.

“We are heartened by the way the university community continues to pull together for this wonderful celebration of Lawrence, past and present,” said Campbell, a 1997 LU graduate. “We’re looking forward to doing it all again, only bigger, better and ‘bLUer.’ We hope everyone can find some time during the show to give, share and watch in celebration of Lawrence Giving Day 2016.”

Exhibiting her apparent high pain threshold, Rachel Crowl has returned to perform her masterful behind-the-scenes wizardry as the webcast’s all-important producer/director for a third straight year.

A photo of Lawrence University Giving Day co-host Kasey Corrado and biology professor Bart DeStasio get ready to do some field research gear.
With encouragement from biologist Bart DeStasio, Giving Day co-host Kasey Corrado gets ready to do some field research gear.

“I’m fully prepared for things to once again go wrong in ways I never expected and I can’t wait to watch us catch ourselves again before we fall,” said Crowl, who has spent months lining up guests and organizing the show. She’s promising a more music-infused program for year three along with the usual staples.

“I’m hoping to have at least one jaw-dropping musical performance very hour. We’re also going to take a look at some of the mainstays of a liberal arts college, like philosophy and classics, do a little science, learn about public art, make some chili, do some dancing, make some noise.

“I just want to have some fun, be entertaining, show off Lawrence University and raise some money.”

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.”  Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.