The Ken Fuirst 86′ Giving Challenge was created to increase young alumni (Class of ’95 – ’15) giving and provide the incentive of maximizing their gift’s impact to Lehigh. On behalf of Ken and the Lehigh Fund, Andrew Woodward ’11 is urging fellow young alumni to build on their invaluable Lehigh experience and join the 550.
The Lehigh Experience . . .
Brown and White First-Year Student Rally.
Four O’Clocks.
“The Game” – Lehigh-Lafayette Spirit Week.
Stairs and more stairs…
These are all just some of the experiences that we all share with our classmates in our first semester as freshmen at Lehigh, when opportunities seem so plentiful, and we were all exploring campus like we just landed on a new planet.
As the fall semester moves into its second month (or week), we all settle into new routines and start building the ever impressive Lehigh Resume — from athletics to academics, parties to community service — it is fair to say, the list is never short. Then all of a sudden, often without warning, our four years on South Mountain have passed, we walked across the graduation stage and headed into the world after Lehigh to build on all that our humble alma mater has taught us.
That world after Lehigh is why I am writing this today… as alumna/alumnae of Lehigh, we all have a responsibility to be stewards of the university that has given us so many opportunities and opened countless doors. So I challenge you, like you have never been challenged before — to put aside those tainted thoughts about “parking services”, “greek life”, “ career services”, “the bursar’s office” — the list goes on — just ask any class gift officer.
Now that you have opened your mind to a challenge, let’s focus on a new opportunity which has been put forth by Mr. Ken Fuirst, Class of 1986. Ken is taking the Young Alumni Giving or ‘lack there-of’ campaign by the horns and agreed to make a sizable gift to Lehigh if we meet the challenge goal — 550 donors from the class of 1995 to 2015 who are first-time donors or donors who have not given since 2013.
Spread the word, tell your friends, co-workers, and siblings that there has never been a better time or opportunity to support Lehigh and all that it has given us!
This challenge is not about giving money to Lehigh. It is about supporting YOUR Lehigh. Before you give, think about the items listed at the top of this letter, those are just generic Lehigh experiences that we all share, but your Lehigh resume is made up of so much more. I challenge you to give to what screams Lehigh to you…from your academic department to athletic team, Taylor gym to the Lehigh Fund — your contribution (no matter the amount) WILL make a difference.
