SRU’s annual Giving Day has been postponed out of precaution for SRU students and their safety.
Giving Day, originally planned for March 26, has been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 virus.
In a tweet sent out by SRU Foundation Inc., those who wish to help SRU students can visit givingday.sru.edu which will stay active until Giving Day can be rescheduled.
Marissa Cozza, senior coordinator of Annual Giving & Communications, said that although it was difficult to postpone the annual Giving Day, students remain SRU Foundation Inc.’s top priority.
“Right now we need to be focusing on student safety and success,” Cozza said. “We want to make sure that students feel supported and this unfortunately isn’t the time to be actively marketing Giving Day. We hope that those who are able to support [the students] will.”
Originally, the fundraising goal was $200,000, and $10,115 has been raised so far.
Cozza said that SRU Foundation Inc. doesn’t know what to expect fundraising wise.
People have reached out to offer assistance for students, and Cozza said that SRU Foundation Inc. is marketing two funds specifically: the Student Support Fund and the Continued Success Scholarship fund.
Slippery Rock utilizes both these funds to help students experiencing health-related or financial hardships.
“Those are the two areas that we are directing [those who want to help] to, so that they can help students directly, and it’s the students that need help more right now” Cozza said. “It’s a really uncertain time, and those that want to help can, we are keeping the site open.”
Cozza said that the foundation still has a lot to work through, but Giving Day will look different without students, faculty and staff on campus.
SRU Foundation Inc. hopes to reschedule Giving Day 2020 before the end of the fiscal school year, June 30.
“Our top priority is continued student safety and student success,” Cozza said. “The date needs to reflect and has to be appropriate for everyone involved, and that’s really difficult to address right now.”
