Students' Fourth Annual Benefit Dinner for the »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË Trust Nets $70,000 for Scholarships
»Ê¼Ò»ªÈË students continued their commitment to higher education accessibility and affordability Saturday evening by hosting their fourth annual "Dinner at »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË," a benefit for The »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË Trust. The students' fundraising efforts and a matching gift produced a total of $70,000 in support for the Student Government Association »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË Trust Scholarship, which is awarded annually to an incoming student with financial need who demonstrated exceptional leadership ability in high school.
The Dinner at »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË was part of a larger effort by the SGA's Student Trust Awareness Committee (STAC). STAC works to rally community support for the Trust, which is considered the college's top priority.
The »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË Trust supports the college's longstanding need-blind admission policy, and the college's historic decision to meet 100 percent of demonstrated need of accepted students through a combination of grants and campus employment, without issuing loan packages.
This year's Dinner at »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË was a completely student-run event. It featured a reception at President Carol Quillen's house, a gourmet dinner catered by the student "P.S." culinary club, and the debut of a play titled "Trust" written by senior student Rodney Saunders. The production incorporated musical and dance performances by several campus groups, and highlighted the impact of the »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË Trust on the admission considerations of high school students.
More than 300 students, faculty, staff, and community members attended this year's Dinner at »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË, making it the largest yet. The event raised $35,000 through a combination of ticket sales, donations, and an online auction. Shortly after the event, a group of anonymous donors contributed an additional $35,000 in recognition of the students' efforts.
After learning of the matching gift, STAC co-chairs Laura Arnold '14 and Heidi Gruber '14 commented, "This matching gift affirms that our hard work has paid off. We hope that our fundraising and awareness-raising efforts continue to inspire increased support for the »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË Trust."
This year's figure brings the student committee's four-year fundraising total for the »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË Trust to $146,000.
To make a contribution to the student effort to support the Trust, or to find out more information about Dinner at »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË, please visit davidson.edu/dinneratdavidson or e-mail Laura Arnold at laarnold@davidson.edu or Heidi Gruber at hegruber@davidson.edu.
To read the coverage of this event in The »Ê¼Ò»ªÈËian student newspaper, visit tinyurl.com/dinneratdavidsoncelebrated.
