Daemen College : Student Life : Daemen Insight : Three Reasons Why Young Graduates Should Donate
Three Reasons Why Young Graduates Should Donate
By Andrew Wheeler
The words “donating money” don’t have a fun ring to them, no matter how you slice it. Yet the act of it can be surprisingly rewarding, no matter what your income. A new graduate’s favorite tag line after graduation is, “Donate? …. Yeah right! I already gave that school plenty of money.” This sentence may be true to some respect, but a young grad should fully contemplate reasons why giving back to their alma mater is a good thing.
Number one: Research. Daemen College is involved with lots and lots of research. Projects and programs that could one day revolutionize the way we take care of people with psychological impairments or heal your grandpa’s bed sore or teach your child to read. Research breakthroughs in any field of study mean more jobs, more money, and more job security for you and everyone in the future of your profession. Proper research requires large amounts of money. Donating back to the school ensures that current and future research is firmly grounded at Daemen, keeping it close to the school’s main objectives.
Number two: Scholarships. Smart people need to go to our school. Sure, you can have a school that admits everybody and their second cousin for two semesters, until they flunk out because of binge drinking four out of five nights. That is not the type of school you want to say you graduated from, because your degree will mean nothing. Scholarships awarded to students on academic merit create a pool of critical thinkers, problem solvers, future leaders, and money makers. Do you know what people like this do for school longevity? They increase it. Giving donations to the school make scholarships possible.
Number three: School improvement. Colleges need the most current technology, literature, and facilities to educate today’s modern student. Yes, you can still teach math with an abacus, but it takes a lot longer and graphing a parabola is impossible. If you want the future, you have to teach with the future. The latest computers, devices, and facilities are needed to make Daemen a college of the 21st century. If your school is not helping to churn out the newest research, ideas, and students to advance your profession, then all of our jobs’ relevance is at risk.
Bottom line: Donating money to the school (in any amount) is beneficial. If all the current alumni of Daemen donated $20 a year, that would amount to $260,000 -- more than a quarter of a million dollars a year! That ain’t bad. So do your part. Whether it is five, ten, twenty, or five hundred dollars doesn’t matter. Giving back makes a difference to the school that ultimately benefits you.
