Students who wrote three or more thank you notes received a dollar off coupon they could use at the food trucks that came to Scott Circle later that day.
SESP junior Courtney Dunham, writes a thank you note to a donor. "There's no reason not to [write a letter]," said Dunham.
Heather Nystedt, ARD's Senior Associate Director of Engagement & Participation, gave pens to students so they could write letters to donors.
Betty McAleer, ARD's Administrative Assistant, helps SESP freshman Scott Gerson with his letter.
Students wrote personal messages the donors. These messages could be personalized in any way for the 42,000 donors, according to Alexandra Delis, ARD's Associate Director Engagement & Participation.
The Alumni Relations and Development Office and the Northwestern Student Alumni Alliance gave out pens, cups, stickers and coffee to any student that wrote a letter to a donor.
ARD and the Student Alumni Alliance reached out to students Wednesday and had tables set up at Norris, Deering Meadow and the Rock where students could write letters.
The Alumni Relations and Development Office and the Northwestern Student Alumni Alliance set up tables for students to write thank you letters to donors on Wednesday as part of Thank a Donor Week.
"This week we are celebrating donors by writing thank you cards to them and just thanking them for their past donations," said Heather Nystedt, ARD's Senior Associate Director of Engagement & Participation. "It's also an opportunity to educate our students on the amount of philanthropy that goes on in Northwestern."
Tables were set up at Norris, the Rock and Deering Meadow. Students could write thank you letters in exchange receive cups, pens, stickers, candy or a cup of coffee. If a student wrote three or more letters, they would receive a dollar-off coupon for the food trucks parked on Scott Circle later that day. The food trucks included Chicago Cupcake and Grill Chasers.
Students such as SESP junior Courtney Dunham took the time to write a letter not for the gifts, but because she truly appreciated the generous donations from the donors.
"I have this great experience at Northwestern and there's a lot of great amenities that come from donors as well financial aid which is really helping me out with attending college," said Dunham. "It only takes a second and there's no reason not to thank someone for that."
ARD and the Student Alumni Alliance have planned other student programming including a Where's Willie contest, senior gifts and an etiquette banquette.