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Grizzlies Helping Grizzlies
2017 Day of Giving exceeds event goal
Myra Beamon, ’17, political science, Elease Dillard, ’15, biology, and Dan Nolan, chief of staff, participated in the second annual GGC Day of Giving in March. This 24-hour crowdfunding event included a robust, multi-media marketing campaign featuring 15 pre-produced video clips and nine live-streaming interviews from campus. The efforts yielded more than 150,000 social media impressions, a 34 percent increase from last year. As the day ended, GGC students, alumni and community donors hit 141 percent of the event’s goal, a 51 percent increase compared to the first Day of Giving in 2016.
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Grizzlies Helping Grizzlies
Emergency funding helps keep students on track for graduation
All students share one common goal – to graduate. However, unexpected situations can threaten to derail a student’s education. Fortunately, a GGC program can help them persevere through difficulties.
Tomas Jimenez, interim senior associate provost for Student Affairs and dean of students, started Grizzlies Helping Grizzlies in 2014 after noticing an increase in the number of homeless students. His role enables him to identify and help those impacted by unanticipated, non-academic challenges.
“This is one of the programs at GGC of which I am most proud,” he said. “Experiencing firsthand how students’ lives are changed from the support of our campus community is truly incredible.”
About 40 students have benefited from Grizzlies Helping Grizzlies. Students needing help are referred to the program by faculty, staff and fellow students. A committee then vets the distribution of emergency funds. The most common needs are for assistance with food and housing.
One recent situation involved a resident student without a place to go for winter break due to family difficulties. She could not stay in the residence halls, which are closed for break. A friend referred her to the program and Jimenez extended a helping hand.
“That was one of those pivotal moments for me at GGC,” said the student.
Partnering with the Office of Advancement, the first crowdfunding campaign for Grizzlies Helping Grizzlies was held in early May, yielding 131 donors. Plans for future campaigns are slated for next year in hopes they will become as successful as the Day of Giving campaign (see photo above).
“GGC truly transforms the lives of our students, one student at a time,” Jimenez said.
