30 Years, Flocks of Volunteers
To celebrate the Center for Service and Social Justice’s 30- year anniversary, Pat Vaccaro, director of the center, and her team didn’t want a party. Instead, they wanted to celebrate in a way that would advance their work "for and with others." So they invited their flock to support the center on 5.06 and promised that for each gift of $30 or more, a pink flamingo would be placed on the Dionne Green in the donor’s name. The result? Colleagues, alumni, volunteers, community partners and past supporters flocked to the opportunity. Together, they contributed more than $17,000 to service programs, and they placed about 300 flamingos on the Dionne Green.
Remembering Mary
Mary Nguyen Silsbee ’98 passed away in 2013 after a courageous battle with cancer. Silsbee was a behavior specialist and worked with many children affected by autism. To commemorate her life and her commitment to helping others, four of Silsbee’s best friends and 1998 classmates came together to launch a fundraising campaign on 5.06. With the support of her family and friends, they raised nearly $15,000 in her honor. Gifts benefit the Psychology Department in support of research and educational programs that teach Scranton students how to care for children with autism, just as Mary did.
Royals in Africa
Uzoma Agbasionye ’18 was born in Udi, Nigeria. Because of the Scholarship for Students from Africa, Agbasionye was able to come to The University of Scranton in pursuit of a Catholic and Jesuit education. On 5.06, he shared his story with the University community, which led to $15,800 in donations to the scholarship, including a generous $5,000 match from University employees Daniel and Rebecca Haggerty.
Julia Dolan ’16 and Sarah Fitch ’16 both participated in the Christianity in Africa Course, which introduced them to a small school in Uganda called St. Margaret’s. Dolan, Fitch and a group of their peers came together on 5.06 to raise more than $3,000 for the course, which will help provide uniforms and supplies for St. Margaret’s students.
Campus Headquarters
After passing by hundreds of pink flamingos on the Dionne Green, students entered the first floor of the DeNaples Center, which was filled with music, snacks, balloons, prizes and, of course, plenty of purple shirts.
Student leaders staffed an array of donation tables on behalf of 21 clubs, 17 athletic teams, Campus Ministries, ISP, the Center for Service and Social Justice, the Center for Career Development and the Christianity in Africa course.
“Every” Gift Counts
On 5.06, every one of the Every siblings made a gift to their family’s scholarship, which has provided $5,000 in financial support since 2014. Pictured left to right are Danamarie '97, Tom '98, Jared '03, Deanna '09 and Marissa '13 Every.
