Alumni, parents and friends gathered at The Julia Morgan Ballroom on Tuesday, Nov. 12, to kick off the historic Ƶ LEADS fundraising campaign in their region.
Alumni, parents and friends gathered in San Francisco to celebrate the regional launch of Ƶ LEADS: Our University Campaign. The event allowed members of the Ƶ community to come together to learn more about the life-changing impact of the campaign, which calls for supporters to raise $250 million by May 31, 2022.
At the event, President Connie Ledoux Book shared how every member of the Ƶ community can find their role in the Ƶ LEADS Campaign and create thousands of student success stories with their gifts.
“There are thousands of stories of lives being changed as a result of your philanthropy and your commitment to Ƶ,” said Book. “Ƶ leads as an institution because we lead as individuals.”
Attendees also heard from Colby Halligan ’15, who now lives in the Bay Area. Halligan grew up as one of five children in an organic farming community in southern Vermont. Resources were spread thin in her family, making Halligan’s dream of attending college a daunting one. Through the Susan Scholarship in the Odyssey Program, which was established by Furman Moseley ’56 and his wife, Susan, Halligan was able to attend Ƶ and pursue a dual degree in environmental science and public health.
“I’m so honored to be a Susan Scholar, an Ƶ alumna and a global citizen. I am also proud to give back to my university and contribute to the Ƶ LEADS Campaign, because I know my gifts matter and I am helping to make a difference in someone else’s life,” she said.
Halligan currently works in development at UC Berkeley, where she leads a research philanthropy team dedicated to raising resources for scholarships and other needs for students who are just like her.
The event in San Francisco was the fifth of six special Evening for Ƶ events across the country this fall celebrating the launch of the Ƶ LEADS Campaign. The next event will be held in Raleigh, N.C., on Dec. 4. Dates and locations for spring 2020 Ƶ LEADS events will be released in the coming months.
Visit the Ƶ LEADS website to learn more about the campaign.