Fifth Annual Thank-a-Donor Day Hosted by the Giving Thanks Club

The Giving Thanks Club organized the fifth annual Thank-a-Donor Day on Tuesday, where students reflected on the impact of donors on their Exeter experiences. The day began with an assembly, and members of the community wrote personal notes at stations around campus throughout the day. In addition to the written letters, Giving Thanks implemented two new elements this year—heart-shaped post-it notes and a banner for people to sign in Agora.The club began planning for Thank-a-Donor Day toward the end of fall term, beginning by speaking with Alumni Affairs and planning the assembly. Each year, the main challenge for the club is formulating new and unique ideas to add variety to the annual Thank-a-Donor Day. Last year, Giving Thanks invited two alumni to speak at assembly and talk about why they volunteer and give back to Exeter. This year, the club shifted its focus and invited members within the community to speak on their personal experiences on campus, made possible by the generosity of the donors of the Academy.According to Giving Thanks co-head and lower Rachel Moberg, the club discussed a variety of different themes and messages that they wanted to convey. “This year, we tried to emphasize what each individual’s 63 percent is, because 63 percent of the Exeter experience is funded by donor support,” she said.

“Donors really appreciate any form of communication from current Academy students.”

Assistant Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Michelle Curtin explained the club’s decision to select people from the community to talk. “[We were] hoping that it shed some light on the different types of experiences that are made possible by donor support,” she said.Religion instructor Russell Weatherspoon, Mail Room Supervisor Joseph Goudreault and senior Michaela Streep spoke at the assembly. The club selected them to present varying voices on campus.“We thought it would be a good way to get a wide a perspective on each person’s Exeter experience as possible,” Moberg said.When Goudreault was first asked to speak at assembly, he hesitated in agreeing to a speech. He then realized the importance for the Exeter community to thank its donors after he reflected on the time he has been at this school. During assembly, he shared some of his personal stories on campus, which involved his children visiting the Phelps Science Center during the weekends and taking swimming lessons with ESSO.Several students were touched by the story he shared and felt Goudreault’s speech showed the significant role and support given by the donors. Lower Jonathan Chen said Goudreault’s story helped him realize and remember how much donors do for the school.“Even if we might not know them, I really came to appreciate more of the support they provide for our school,” he said.Weatherspoon, the second speaker at the assembly, shared moments from his 29 years of involvement with the school. After five years of Thank-a-Donor Day, he noticed the building momentum of the annual event and said that “people seem more willing to do it year after year.”He also expressed his hope that through the assembly, students would become more informed, reflective and inspired to thank their donors for their behind-the-scenes work for the school. “If anyone didn't know tuition doesn't cover the cost of any individual student's time here, I hope that motivates her or him to thank a donor,” he said.Prep Chimenum Tasie-Amadi said that the personal stories shared at assembly striked a cord with his own experience thus far at Exeter. “Being someone who has seen the lowest of the low, I know how privileged we all are in one way or another to have people paying for the things they do, to have donors backing us,” he said.Prep Elizabeth Williams expressed her gratefulness for the chance to write personal cards to our donors at the “thank you note” stations.“I thought the entire day was a great way for the students to be more appreciative of the generosity of the donors,” Williams said.Moberg emphasized that the goal of this year’s assembly was to recognize the connections between students and donors. To thank the generosity of donors, who have contributed to at least 63 percent of students’ educations, Giving Thanks encouraged students to write personal notes to let the donors know students’ gratefulness for their support.“Donors really appreciate any form of communication from current Academy students, but they especially like to see the kinds of people who are here now. They all had their own Exeter experience and have their own memories, and it’s interesting for them to see how the school has changed since they have been there, but also how much has stayed the same,” Moberg said.Throughout Thank-a-Donor Day, club members took pictures and posted them on social media so that alumni could immediately see the sentiments of gratitude. The personalized notes will be sent to alumni and parent donors. Going into the future, Giving Thanks plans on making a video of some of the notes and sentiments that people have written.Moberg attributed the event’s success to the enthusiasm and dedication of the club members. “It’s always great to see new faces at our meetings, and the preps this year have been especially committed,” she said.Giving Thanks leads three major projects each year to reach out and thank the Academy’s donors. The club works with the Alumni Office on the E/a Challenge in the fall, Thank-a-Donor Day in the winter and reunion season in the spring. With the growing success of these termly events, the club is considering expanding its operations to include another event next year to further increase awareness on the large and integral role of donors.Moberg shared a project proposal currently being debated for the club’s new event next year communicating that without donor support and depending upon the current student tuition level, funds for student activities and academia would run out by December. “It’s an idea in the works, but it would be interesting to find ways [through this concept] to show people the impact of our donors,” Moberg said.