Three student-selected nonprofits to receive portions of total
funds raised
Campus Kitty leaders held an
end-of-year gathering to announce their current fundraising total and celebrate
a successful academic year of supporting student-selected local nonprofits. Front
row, from left: Vice Chair Joelle Fahoum, Publicity Chair Gabbie Lefear, and
Chair Kate Jackson. Back row, from left: Secretary Dani Brumbelow, Miss Hendrix
Director Haylee Songer, Donations & Fundraising Co-Chairs Sydney Lovell and
Hannia Valero, and Awareness Chair Lily Black. Not pictured: Treasurer West
Boudreaux.
CONWAY,
Arkansas (April 19, 2024)—Campus Kitty, the Hendrix College student-run
organization that for more than six decades has raised funds for local charities,
on Tuesday announced their academic year-to-date total of $25,342 in gifts that will be
allocated to this year’s selected local nonprofit organizations. They expect
more dollars to be added through fundraising activities on Alumni Weekend,
which begins today.
The
students revealed the current total and gave “paper plate awards”—providing
formal recognition on a budget that doesn’t diminish the fundraising total—to
numerous committee members, honoring their work on various events held
throughout the academic year that have contributed to the amount raised. Campus
Kitty leaders also invited all three of this year’s student-selected nonprofits
to send a representative to speak about the work they do and the people they
assist, and two were able to attend.
Leona Walton of the Pine Street
Backpack Program explained how the initiative helps about 1,000 kids a year,
providing customized school supplies according to age and grade level, plus gift
cards so students can select their own back-to-school clothes; and Carolyn
Davis of Soul Food Cafe Mission shared the breadth of services that
organization provides each Tuesday to community members with immediate needs,
including hot meals, food to go, shower facilities, washers and dryers, and
health and beauty items. (The third student-selected nonprofit, Intransitive, an
education and advocacy group supporting and advancing the leadership of trans
Arkansans, was unable to send a speaker to the ceremony.)
Campus Kitty Chair Kate Jackson ’24
reported that community involvement was particularly high this year. Campus
Kitty’s two largest events grew even larger, as more than 2,000 people attended
the revamped and expanded holiday bazaar that was held in The Village at
Hendrix, and the annual Ms. Hendrix event in March had its first-ever sellout, with
all 816 seats in Staples Auditorium filled.
In addition to receiving the inherent
benefits that come with helping others, Hendrix students who serve on the
Campus Kitty team have the option of earning Odyssey credit in the Service to
the World category, one of six areas of engaged learning that the Hendrix
Odyssey Program supports.
View photos from the ceremony here.
About Hendrix College
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is
featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You
Think About Colleges and celebrated among the country’s leading liberal arts
colleges for academic quality, engaged learning opportunities and career
preparation, vibrant campus life, and value. The Hendrix College Warriors
compete in 21 NCAA Division III sports. Hendrix has been affiliated with the
United Methodist Church since 1884. Learn more at www.hendrix.edu.
“… Through engagement that links the
classroom with the world, and a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice,
and sustainable living, the Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives
of accomplishment, integrity, service, and joy.”
—Hendrix College Statement of Purpose