NSU Student Foundation Takes to the Highways

Special coverage by NSU Intern Laura Butler

The Northeastern State University Student Foundation (NSUSF) is going on the road starting August 3. NSUSF is a brand new concept to help students get involved in philanthropy. The purpose of the organization is to educate students about philanthropy and motivate them to take an active role in supporting the university.

The road trip is the kickoff event for NSUSF. Adviser Penny Moore and Executive Officers Tony Maxville Jr., Jared Rusk and Carl Bell will be traveling to Baltimore, MD, for a conference on student philanthropy and making several stops both on the way to the conference and on the way back. Bell said that the trip was Moores creation.

NSUSF had been approved to attend the CASE ASAP National Conference on student philanthropy and it was suggested that driving would be more affordable than flying. One evening when the three executive officers were working on the phone-a-thon, Moore suggested the road trip idea to them.

Of course we all approved of the notion, Bell said. As we began planning we continued to build on the idea of reaching out to our alumni. Eventually, Dr. Betz [NSU President] heard of the trip and quickly supported the idea.

Moore and the executive officers immediately started doing research and printing maps. By the end of the spring semester, all the stops were planned. The trip was approved by June 5, and they began calling alumni in major cities on the route. Bell and Rusk, who have been out of state for the summer, have even been using their own cell phones to call alumni.

Im looking forward to meeting NSU alumni from across the country, Bell said. I want to hear their stories and experiences at NSU. Also, I am excited to visit other student foundation programs to get a better feel for ways we can enhance NSUSF.

The first stop on the trip is scheduled for Indiana University at Purdue, then they will go on to Washington DC and then to the conference in Baltimore. On the way back, they will spend one day with the Georgia Tech Student Foundation, which is the model foundation for the entire country, and make several stops in selected cities to visit with alumni. Highlights include a personal dinner in Cherokee, NC, events in Atlanta, GA; Nashville, TN and Memphis, TN. The group will also hold an evening event in Little Rock, AR.

The events have been set up and coordinated by both us and Penny, Rusk said. However, they will be hosted by dedicated and excited alumni already in those select cities. This idea has been greeted with open arms by the NSU administration and with the alumni that we have asked to host events.

The students will bring a phone list on the trip and calls will go out to alumni ahead of each stop. Moore explained that the trip is not about money, its about building relationships.

We want students to interact with alumni and learn how to engage with students philanthropically, Moore said. We want to say thank you to alumni and build relationships.

Moore wrote on the NSUSF blog that she is excited not just about the road trip but about the impact that these events will have on the university and the students who have invested their time and energy with the organization.

I hope to grow a stronger bond with the university, Maxville said. These will be memories I remember the rest of my life. Im sure I will learn things I didn't know and Im sure Penny will be there to teach us different ideas and ways to help make the Student Foundation stronger.

Rowdy the Riverhawk mascot will also be accompanying NSUSF on the road. The students plan to bring Rowdy puppets and take pictures of him in various locations along the route.

You can follow NSUSFs journey on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nsu_sf; on their official blog at http://nsustudentfoundation.blogspot.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/NSU-Student-Foundation/100964762337.

You can also email the foundation at student_foundation@nsuok.edu.

7/27/2009

Published: 2009-07-27 00:00:00