The TCU programs “Count Me In” and “Senior Class Legacy” allow student donors to give back to campus and leave a lasting mark upon graduation.
“Count Me In” gives current students the opportunity to donate to TCU and decide which department their donation supports.
“We ask alumni to give to the university every year, why not ask students?” said Elyse Menger, director of constituent engagement in the Office of Annual Giving.
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Menger said that last year there were just more than 1,200 student donors to the university, raising about $74,000.
Students who participate in these fundraising programs, with a $50 minimum donation, will become members of the Junior Clark Society. Members will honor three faculty members and receive a Senior Class Legacy brick to be placed in the library mall when they graduate.
“Besides the materialistic object of having a brick, putting your name on it and whatever else you want, it is a great way to give back to the university that you have been at for the last four years,” said Brent Boudreaux, senior member of Student Foundation.
Senior Class Legacy bricks are usually placed throughout the library mall. With the recent construction of the library and Rees-Jones Hall, some of the bricks had to be taken up and put in storage. The class of 2015 will not have their bricks placed until the fall.
“It is a little disappointing that I won’t get to see it when I’m here but, when I come back for homecoming I will be sure to stop by and see it,” Boudreaux said.
When the seniors of 2015 do get their bricks placed, the original class of brick donors will have their bricks replaced.
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“People walk on these every single day; we have talked about the construction on campus,” Menger said. “Things happen, things get dropped on them and they shatter.”
Menger said this means legacy bricks will be replaced every 20-25 years.
“We call it Senior Class Legacy,” Menger said. “Legacy has such a strong meaning to it that that brick will be there in perpetuity and so what we have decided to do is place those bricks.”
Menger said that the opportunity to leave your legacy through a donation means so much more than just having a brick.
“[Donating to TCU] is taking ownership of your education here,” Menger said. “It’s one thing to go to class and live here, but it is another thing entirely to be a TCU donor and to truly believe in the mission of TCU.”
The Senior Class Legacy program will continue to be a mainstay at TCU, but the last day for seniors to donate toward having a brick placed this year is Feb. 27.
