{"id":49372,"date":"2017-02-17T22:44:29","date_gmt":"2017-02-17T22:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viconsortium.com\/?p=49372"},"modified":"2017-02-17T22:44:29","modified_gmt":"2017-02-17T22:44:29","slug":"uvi-celebrates-55th-anniversary-with-revolutionary-fund-raising-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=49372","title":{"rendered":"UVI Celebrates 55th Anniversary with Revolutionary Fund-Raising Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\">The University of the Virgin Islands is celebrating the University\u2019s Emerald Anniversary with a revolutionary philanthropic initiative. \u201c55 for 55: The Great Alumni Challenge!\u201d encourages UVI alumni to make history by achieving a 55 percent alumni giving rate in honor of the institution\u2019s 55<sup class=\"\">th<\/sup> anniversary, UVI announced today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cUVI\u2019s Alumni Affairs Office was overjoyed when we received an anonymous $55,000 gift,\u201d said Linda Smith \u201898, \u201803, UVI director of Annual Giving and Alumni Affairs. \u201cThe anonymous donor issued a surprise challenge with this gift.\u201d If UVI alumni donate $55,000 collectively, the donor will match the contribution, making the total value of the gift $110,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">As part of the challenge, alumni and friends who make a contribution in the amount of $55 or more will be automatically entered into the running for an all-expense paid trip for two to our nation\u2019s capital, Washington, D. C. Sponsored by Ian Tomlinson \u201888 and Reginald Vigilant \u201888, UVI alumni and owners of OmniSystems, this prize includes two round-trip tickets, two nights and three days in a downtown hotel, and two tickets to the newly opened\u00a0<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a class=\"\" style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/videos\/inside-the-national-museum-of-african-american-history-and-culture\" target=\"_blank\">Smithsonian\u2019s National Museum of African History and Culture<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cI appreciate the quality education received from my alma mater, and it has made me who I am today,\u201d said Tomlinson. \u201cIn celebration of UVI\u2019s 55<sup class=\"\">th<\/sup> Anniversary, Reginald, myself, and the OmniSystems team are honored to give back in this momentous and special way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cUVI Alumni made history with our \u201c50 for 50\u201d challenge during the 50<sup class=\"\">th<\/sup> anniversary,\u201d said UVI President David Hall. \u201cI am confident that our graduates will rise to this challenge and make the \u201c55 for 55\u201d challenge a major and historic success as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">As always, alumni contributions may be designated to support an area of the university for which the donor has a specific passion.\u00a0 The \u201c55 for 55\u201d campaign is empowering alumni in Caribbean nations to directly fund their very own academic scholarships.\u00a0 Alumni in St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Maarten, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, the British Virgin Islands, St. Lucia, Antigua, Anguilla, St. Eustatius and Saba and others in Caribbean nations, have formalized scholarships which will benefit students from their countries. Donors on St. Thomas and St. Croix can make donations into scholarships funds, which have already been established.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\" lang=\"EN-CARRIBEAN\">\u201cWhile I attended UVI, my fellow Kittitian and Nevisians struggled to gain additional funding to support college life,\u201d <\/span>St. Clair Hodge \u201810, UVI alumnus. \u201c<span class=\"\" lang=\"EN-CARRIBEAN\">As international students the opportunities for scholarships were paper thin, with only one available. As an executive of the UVI Student Government Association, I lobbied for more scholarships for international students but was asked, \u2018What is your government doing?\u2019&#8221; \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><span class=\"\" lang=\"EN-CARRIBEAN\">\u201cThat hit home. I made a commitment that I will do what I can to ensure other nationals did not struggle like we did,\u201d said Hodge. \u201cI was extremely pleased when I heard of the approved scholarship initiative set up by the Alumni Giving Office. This is an excellent way for alumni to participate and for us Kittitians and Nevisians to support our own in a tangible way.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">In honor of their institutional pride, all funds raised for each country will be awarded to a prospective or current student, as directed by the alumni scholarship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cWhat better way to celebrate UVI\u2019s Emerald anniversary than inviting all alumni to support their alma mater from wherever in the world they are and opening new pathways which will afford others the opportunity of a quality education,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cOur goal is to increase our alumni engagement and utilize the funding raised to enhance the student and faculty experience at UVI,\u201d said Mitchell Neaves, vice president for Institutional Advancement.\u00a0 \u201cThe Great Alumni Challenge offers our graduates the opportunity to invest in programs which will profoundly impact our students and the long-term growth of the communities they serve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Alumni, supporters and friends can participate immediately by making a donation online, in person or via mail. To make a donation online visit<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"> <a class=\"\" style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/donation.uvi.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/donation.uvi.edu<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 Checks may be mailed to University of the Virgin Islands; Office of Institutional Advancement; 2 John Brewers Bay; St. Thomas, VI 00802-9990. To make a donation in person on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix, visit the Alumni Affairs Office in the Research and Extension Service Building. On the St. Thomas Campus, visit the Institutional Advancement Office, east of the Administration and Conference Center.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">For more information about <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a class=\"\" style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.uvi.edu\/administration\/institutional-advancement\/alumni-affairs\/challenge.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">the Great Alumni Challenge<\/a><\/span>, the promotion and its rules, visit <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><a class=\"\" style=\"color: #3366ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.uvi.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">www.uvi.edu<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The University of the Virgin Islands is celebrating the University\u2019s Emerald Anniversary with a revolutionary philanthropic initiative. \u201c55 for 55: The Great Alumni Challenge!\u201d encourages UVI alumni to make history by achieving a 55 percent alumni giving rate in honor of the institution\u2019s 55th anniversary, UVI announced today. \u201cUVI\u2019s Alumni Affairs Office was overjoyed when [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1078,147],"tags":[1014,613],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>UVI Celebrates 55th Anniversary with Revolutionary Fund-Raising Campaign - V.I. 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