Central Student Government executives asked CSG members for donations toward CSG’s Leadership Engagement Scholarship at their Tuesday meeting through Giving Blueday, and CSG President David Schafer and CSG Vice President Micah Griggs, LSA seniors, discussed how to encourage more students to be involved.
Schafer and Griggs addressed their assembly as guest speakers to promote the scholarship project, which they spearheaded and initiated last month to support emerging and established student leaders on campus. According to Schafer, the initiative has raised $100,000 so far.
“We are sitting in a room with probably 50 of us. Even if you give a dollar, that’s 50 dollars right there,” Griggs said.
The scholarship aims to relieve the financial burden of membership dues and unpaid time commitments that go into being involved in a campus organization. Schafer said the assembly wanted to increase involvement in student organization because it is a valuable part of the university experience that students will reflect back on after graduation.
“On a larger scale, we are committed to this life-long engaged learning outside of the classroom that the Leadership Engagement Scholarship will advance,” Schafer said. “In 20 or 30 years we might not remember what we’ve done inside of the classroom but I can guarantee you that the work we have done outside of the classroom will transcend that period.”
CSG held an information session about the scholarship last month to spread awareness and answer the questions of interested student leaders, though f ew students not on the body were in attendance. The scholarship can apply toward any area of student life, including Greek life, student government, performing arts and entrepreneurship organizations. It can be awarded to undergraduate, graduate and professional emerging or established student leaders.
In her remarks Tuesday, Griggs connected the scholarship to the reality of a college student with financial burdens, and said CSG could contribute to the degree to which students are involved.
“There are students that have to go to work to put themselves through college, to pay for the necessities, or just the littlest things,” Griggs said. “Automatically it’s a barrier for students to get involved.”
Speaking specifically to Giving Blueday, the 24-hour University-wide fundraising event for students and the surrounding community to support the program or department or their choosing, Schafer and Griggs urged members of the body to continue donating to their own organization through the Giving Blueday’s website for their scholarship.
“Help us make more student leaders like you,” Schafer said. “Help us provide the opportunities we have been given to help shape our personal growth and our professional development. That’s what we really hope to do with this scholarship.”
“That’s my only ask of you tonight,” he continued. “It’s to consider to give to the leadership scholarship. In the hopes to make more student leaders like all of you. And for you to ask your friends and families to give.”
Schafer noted that though Giving Blueday only lasts 24 hours, the link to donate to the scholarship will always remain open to accept future donations.
“It (the link) is open the entire year… You can give to the scholarship after Giving Blueday just like you could give to the scholarship before Giving Blueday,” he said.
While the assembly did not attach a specific fundraising goal to the scholarship since it is newly developed, Schafer said his goal was $10,000.
“The reason we didn’t set a goal is because this initiative is very much in its infant stage… to us, we have already been successful regardless of what we raised because we launched the scholarship and we raised awareness and inspired people along the way,” Schafer said. “But I think $10,000 would be great.”
Though the scholarship is already endowed, Schafer emphasized that CSG wants to raise even more money to increase the scholarship’s endowment.
“We have already raised $100,000 toward the scholarship and at the University of Michigan, you only need $25,000 to endow a scholarship,” Schafer said.