Fall has been beautiful here at Ohio Wesleyan so far. I took a few pictures of the scenery, so here they are!
10. 28 Days Later (2003: Directed by Danny Boyle)
Hi! I'm Tori Schlaudt, the legacy intern at the Annual Giving Office. As a sophomore at OWU, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be an intern here. The staff is all extremely welcoming and friendly, and I love helping the University in any way I can because this truly is a wonderful school.
I am extremely excited about all the new Sagan courses at OWU, and as a person who went on one, I can say that they are worth every penny. Learning about something in a classroom is fantastic, but combining that with real life experience and knowledge is something that is very unique to Ohio Wesleyan, and is a way to spark people's curiosity about the rest of the world. Traveling is an experience that cannot be matched and Ohio Wesleyan clearly understands that. The University also shows its support of travel and experiential learning through its support of mission trips and study abroad programs, like the one I will be attending next semester in Venezuela.
Another thing unique to OWU is our emphasis on community service. Last year, the University won a Presidential Award for community service, and was one of only three universities to do so. I am proud to be a part of a school that cares about knowledge and about the good of the community.
I guess the point of my post is to say that I feel very lucky to attend a progressive University that is so focused on community service and travel to enhance knowledge.
On Friday, March 26th, students, faculty and staff celebrated Tuition Free Forward. Each year Ohio Wesleyan donors generously contribute approximately one-third of our operating budget - so for the last third of their academic year, OWU students rely on donors to heat or cool their dorm rooms, fix broken computers, buy library books, provide laboratory supplies, turn lights on in their classrooms and so much more!
This year over 275 students stopped by to play OWU Jeopardy and sign thank you cards which will be sent to donors. And 22 students received raffle prizes for participating, including gift certificates donated by local businesses.
A special THANK YOU to the following businesses for gift certificates to our raffle:
Shadowbox Cabaret
The Funny Bone Comedy Club
The Columbus Museum of Art
Oakhaven Golf Club
And THANK YOU to the Student Homecoming Organization for helping make this year's event such a great success! Check out their facebook group here to learn more about SHO!
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| From Blogger Pictures |
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| From Blogger Pictures |
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| From Blogger Pictures |
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| From Blogger Pictures |
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| From Blogger Pictures |
Hey to everyone out in blog land. My name is Meggie and I am the young alumni and student programming coordinator in alumni relations office but also a huge fan of the annual giving team, obviously (!); I work with them collaboratively when given the chance. When asked if I would guest blog about a recent spring break mission trip, I was totally honored! So, here goes (hopefully I don’t bore you to tears) . . .
I helped advise six students who ventured to St. Benedictine Monastery located in good ol’ Erie, PA, for their Spring Break. It was one of eight mission trips. Instead of going to the beach, these students stayed in a cloister with nuns! Yes, it is true. And, they chose to do this, really. Talk about amazing students with open minds. To give a bit of insight to the schedule, here’s what a typical day looked like:
6:30 a.m.: Morning Praise
7:00 – 8:00 a.m.: Breakfast (with the Sisters)
8:30 – 11:30 a.m.: Ministry Work
11:45 a.m.: Noon Praise
12:00 p.m.: Lunch (with the Sisters)
1:00 – 4:00 p.m: Ministry Work
5:00 – 5:30 p.m. – Lectio/Silent Individual Prayer
5:30 p.m.: Evening Praise
6:00 p.m.: Dinner (with the Sisters)
7:15 p.m.: Reflection with team and Sister Dorothy
10:00 p.m.: Lights Out
Needless to say, the days were regimented! It took the students (and me!) a few days to get used to the schedule, but we quickly fell into the rhythm and adapted. One night, we went to Sister Dorothy’s house, had some pizza and her specialty homemade chocolate chip cookies (she was super sweet and didn’t want to make us eat the liver and onions (puke!) that were being served at the Monastery). Soon we got the sisters talking about the “good old days”. One of the stories entailed sneaking wine into the monastery. Another one was about sneaking into an all boys college down the road. Pretty funny stuff. You should have seen the 30 shades of red that some of the sister’s faces turned.
The ministries were inspiring. My personal favorite was the St. Benedictine Education Center (SBEC) where they provided a Welfare to Work program. Erie, PA has a very high rate of refugees, namely from Bhutan, Nepal, Iran, and Iraq. We were able to work with them one-on-one, teaching English and practical lessons like sewing and what to say in a job interview. It was funny when all of them asked if we had boyfriends or were married. I think they had mini crushes on all those college girls.
Other than driving the 15-passenger van and hitting every curb imaginable, the experience was amazing. I give these students so much credit for their hard work and open minds. That’s all for now. Enjoy the pictures. One is a group shot and another is me cleaning the chapel with Sister Jean (nothing is ever clean enough there)!
From Blogger Pictures
From Blogger Pictures
The Annual Giving staff is gearing up for our annual Tuition Free Forward celebration. We have some new marketing and poster ideas this year, thanks to the help of our student focus group, the Student Homecoming Organization and University Communications. Here's our first poster, which is also a full-page ad in today's Transcript!
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| From Blogger Pictures |
Ohio Wesleyan University has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org/), America's largest and most-utilized independent evaluator of charities.
According to their President & CEO Ken Berger, as the nonprofit sector continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, savvy donors are demanding more accountability, transparency and quantifiable results from the charities they choose to support with their hard-earned dollars. In this competitive philanthropic marketplace, Charity Navigator highlights the fine work of efficient charities, and provides donors with essential information needed to give them greater confidence in the charitable choices they make.
Only 20% of the charities rated have received at least 2 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Ohio Wesleyan University consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way, and outperforms most other charities in America. This “exceptional” designation from Charity Navigator differentiates Ohio Wesleyan University from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust.
Forbes, Business Week, and Kiplinger's Financial Magazine, among others, have profiled and celebrated Charity Navigator's unique method of applying data-driven analysis to the charitable sector. Charity Navigator evaluates ten times more charities than their nearest competitor and currently attracts more visitors to their website than all other charity rating groups combined, thus making them the leading charity evaluator in America. Their irrefutable data shows that users of their site gave more than they planned to before viewing the findings, and in fact, it is estimated that last year Charity Navigator influenced over $10 billion in charitable gifts. Charity Navigator's service will only enhance OWU's fundraising and public relations efforts.
- Mayme
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