A summer campaign by student callers to raise money for the York Annual Fund has ended, with over £100’000 being raised during the 
term. The Fund is made up entirely of donations from University alumni, and students were hoping to raise money to go towards ‘Achieving Excellence Bursaries’ as well as grants for societies and volunteering projects. Calling ended on Thursday 13th June, with the final total being £100’055.63 exactly.
The Achieving Excellence Bursaries are unique in the fact they provide help to disadvantaged students. It is dedicated to helping students who come from a household income of between £25’001 and £42’000, meaning those who are not usually eligible to receive financial support, but many of whom still need the help. The feedback from students who receive these bursaries has been immense, with many commenting on just how much it has supported them. Ellie Haines, who is one of the organizers of this term’s campaign has said about the bursaries that, “we are incredibly grateful to the alumni who give money which enables many of you to come here and study without being held back by financial difficulties”.
Last year the campaign raised enough for twenty-six Achieving Excellence Bursaries, one for each academic department. In this summer campaign, student callers had been hoping to work towards almost doubling the number of these, aiming to raise enough for a total of fifty bursaries to go to students starting from September 2013.
In total there were just twenty-four student callers and two supervisors, who had been calling for five nights a week since the 29th April in a bid for alumni to donate. Lauren Cowling, one of the summer campaign’s supervisors, described to York Vision how rewarding it can be, saying, “Not only are students connecting to alumni on a professional level, learning about different career options and communicating back information about York such as the 50th Anniversary, but also students are raising a brilliant amount of money every campaign”.
The York Annual Fund also provides grants to societies such as Drama Society, Music Society and URY, as well as volunteering projects such as Kids Camp and Nightline. The Fund, therefore, has become a fantastic opportunity for alumni to contribute to students who are currently studying at the university. Since 2005, grants to the total of £1,092,712.15 have been awarded to the Fund.
The telethon is a push not only to raise money for the York Annual Fund, but also to talk to alumni about York’s history and the celebrations going on during the alumni weekend, which is from the 21st to 23rd June.
The telethon recruits new students before the start of each campaign. There are currently two campaigns during the academic year, during the Autumn term and the Summer term. If you would like to be a part of the telethon calling team please either email [email protected] for an application form or you can apply online in the first two weeks of the autumn term.