Endicott鈥檚 6th Annual Giving Day Raises More Than $600K to Fuel the College鈥檚 Future
Just as a rolling fog descended upon the Endicott campus, a roaring “BINGO!” did too.
It was the 6th annual Giving Day, and despite the cloudy weather, the vibes were sunny—and there was bingo.
Participation was the name of the game as students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and friends of the College rallied in record numbers to make this year’s Giving Day a record-breaking event with 66 challenges unlocked and a total of $623,700 raised—$104,671 more than 2023.
“The impact of a successful Giving Day goes beyond the dollars and cents—although those are really important,” said Pat Hewett, Vice President of Institutional Advancement. “Giving Day is an event that pulls the entire College community together and gives us a common purpose. I am so proud to see how Gulls from around the world came together to make Giving Day 2024 a huge success!”
Gifts flooded in from 45 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, and from international Gulls, too. All members of the Endicott community stepped up, with 31% of alumni, 20% of students, and 20% of parents making a Giving Day gift.
While participation from Endicott’s community is the heart and soul of Giving Day, year over year Endicott’s Board of Trustees prove to be powerful backers of several challenges, including this year’s $60,000 Big Giving Day Challenge, which matched gifts made to Athletics & Recreation, Student Life, and academics, and was sponsored by Trustees Sheila Walsh, Melissa Hempstead ’69, and Ravi Vig, and the $10,000 Alumni Council Challenge, sponsored by Trustees Susan Dowling ’72 and Linda Milley ’74.
Trustee Mike Rockett supported women’s varsity athletics with a gift of $25,000, with the women’s varsity team with the most significant percentage increase of donors from last year’s Giving Day—women’s ice hockey—netting an additional $3,000 in challenge dollars, while Trustee Jim Demers also showed up big to support athletics programs, giving a total of $15,000 to six teams who won head-to-head matchups: baseball, dance, men’s ice hockey, cheerleading, women’s ice hockey, and equestrian.
On campus, a scavenger hunt inspired community members to hit four different Giving Day stations, including the Center for Belonging—the day’s bingo hub and the hotspot for treats from local favorite Beantrust. That’s where Gabrielle Freitas ’27 was huddled with friends over her bingo card. It was the first Giving Day for the first-year nursing major.
“[Giving Day] shows a sense of community at Endicott, and it’s getting a lot of involvement,” said Freitas. “I hope it continues.”
Meanwhile, nursing major Franny Bianchi ’26 had just come from the Walter J. Manninen Center for the Arts where she’d had her water bottle engraved by artist Antea Amoroso and was waiting on friends to make their donations in Lower Callahan.
“I made my donation to track and field, which I’m part of,” she said. “It’s all about supporting the community and supporting the team, and because we’re DIII it’s also about giving back and supporting the community that supports us.”
Over at the Post Center, the afternoon heralded the first-ever Gull Games, where student-athletes competed against one another for a pizza party for their respective team.
Football player and business management major Vinny Insinga ’27 watched from the bleachers and cheered on his teammate, Stan Pierre ’27.
“The events are fun and entertaining,” said Insinga, who was donating that night to the football team along with his roommates.
By the day’s end, exercise science major Aimee Feldman ’25 had won the scavenger hunt, which came with a noble prize—the opportunity to designate $1,000 to any school or initiative on campus. Feldman chose the School of Sport Science.
A 24-hour giving blitz, the Giving Day fun continued into the night on campus, with Favorite’s Night at Callahan Dining Hall that featured some of the students’ favorite dishes and karaoke.
Bianchi couldn’t wait.
“I’m known for my karaoke,” she said, “and it’s a very inviting and happy vibe today, so why not?”
Giving Day at a Glance
- Total raised: $623,700 (66 challenges unlocked)
- Number of donors overall: 3,626
- Total raised for athletics: $253,117 from 2,232 donors
- Baseball was the #1 fund supported with 303 donors
- The community raised nearly $4,000 to support care costs for Gary the campus comfort dog, showing how much the community appreciates his presence every day on the Endicott campus
- With $9,240 raised, the women’s ice hockey team saw a 164% increase in dollars raised in 2024 compared to 2023—the highest year-over-year increase in dollars raised of any fund
- Endicott’s Division of Academic Success achieved 416% of its donor goal