Thank you: 'The two words no one says nearly enough'

From Nov. 8-10, at various locations around campus, students, faculty and staff will be able to write thank you notes to donors to the university, with the goal of reaching 1,000.

"It's the two words that no one says nearly enough but everyone wants to hear," said Amanda Zamzes, program assistant for donor relations, who has been instrumental in planning the event. "We're just providing a venue so that those who want to say thank you have the ability to do so."

Student volunteers will man the tables, which will include blank cards, a fish bowl full of names to draw from and a thermometer filled with acorns marking the progress of the event. Those who wish to thank a specific donor, rather than drawing a random name, will have the opportunity to do so.

"It's a very wide variety of donors, not just major ones," Zamzes said. "It's the professor teaching you in class that makes the donation every year. It's the person in Physical Plant who takes care of this campus and believes in it enough to give back a part of their earnings to keep the university running."

Students who receive scholarships are typically encouraged to write notes of thanks to their donors. Students who have not done so already can write specific thank you notes, according to Sara Peterson, director of donor relations. The event, she said, reflects one facet of Elon's institutional priorities.

"From our vantage point, that means making people aware of what has been done for them, many times, without much fanfare," she said. "Part of that is sharing the stories that go into making Elon the great place it is. Building the culture of philanthropy means knowing those stories and appreciating it and letting people who've made sacrifices know they're appreciated."

Last year, the university held Elon Thank You Day for a few hours at a table in Moseley Center. The event was considered a success, Zamzes said, despite the lack of substantial publicity.

"We wanted to step up and say, 'let's make this an Elon tradition and spread it out over a few days' and give a goal that is quantifiable and people understand," she said. "It's unlike anything we've ever done before, but something that we should be doing."

This year, Zamzes said the event will be advertised through Facebook, table tents and notes on whiteboards. College Coffee will officially kick off the three- day event earlier that week.