St. Joseph’s College hosts its third annual Giving Day fundraising campaign on April 28, an initiative focused on student scholarships, equipment for science labs and other projects directly benefiting the student body.
The Giving Day campaign is a 24-hour fundraiser, celebrating St. Joseph the Worker Day. Flavio Bollag, SJC’s executive director of development, said he is happy to see many of the Giving Day projects connect to the Year of St. Joseph and the long tradition of service at our College.
“Giving Day represents the great connection between our donors and friends and the work that our students are doing in the classroom and the experiences and careers they are seeking in life,” Bollag said. “One of the best parts of the day is watching the donor totals climb, as so many members of our community find a way to get involved. On Giving Day, it really is about strength in numbers — no gift is too small and everything counts in a big way.”
The second annual Giving Day at St. Joseph’s College last spring was a huge success; 432 donors gave nearly $59,325 in just 24 hours. The generous donations helped students to stay in school and on track to complete their degrees amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
To make a donation to this year’s Giving Day event, click here. The fundraiser closes at 11:59 p.m. on April 28.
Giving Day 2021 Projects:
Mission to raise funds for the Dion Arroyo Scholarship
Campus: SJC Long Island
Summary: The Dion Arroyo Scholarship remains the only student-run scholarship at SJC Long Island. The scholarship exists to honor the memory of a fallen brother of the local Delta Psi Omega Fraternity. It is available for undergraduate Computer Science majors, similar to the academic path that Dion had pursued. Delta Psi Omega has since become part of the national fraternity, Alpha Phi Delta, and the brothers hold charity events for the fund annually.
Microscopes for New Bio Lab
Campus: SJC Brooklyn
Summary: Increasing enrollments in the areas of biology, medical technology and nursing have expanded the need for laboratory facilities at SJC Brooklyn. As the College prepares to build a new biology lab, it needs to be equipped with high-quality microscopes to ensure students have access to the best equipment for instruction and research. The department hopes to raise funds to purchase some of the 16 microscopes needed to outfit the lab. The cost of a Nikon Eclipse phase contrast microscope is approximately $1,850.
Practice IVs to create better RNs
Campus: SJC Long Island
Summary: For many nursing students and new nurses in the field, being able to properly and confidently start an IV is a vital and sometimes nerve-wracking skill. Adding new IV practice training arms and supplies in the Skills Lab will allow SJC nursing students to boost their knowledge and skills, to be even more successful in their field. This would give nursing students an opportunity to expand their education and become more confident in their skills.
The Joseph Lewinger ’00 Scholarship for Future Educators
Campus: SJC Brooklyn
Summary: Joseph Lewinger, beloved member of the class of 2000 from SJC Brooklyn, was a proud and devoted SJC Alumnus who found his passion in educating and empowering the young women at The Mary Louis Academy, as assistant principal. Mr. Lewinger died in 2020 due to complications from the coronavirus at only 42 years old.
SJC LI Food Pantry
Campus: SJC Long Island
Summary: Donations will help SJC’s fight against student hunger.
SJC Online Student Book Fund
Campus: SJC Online
Summary: The College is seeking help to support new SJC Online students, as well as continuing students who face financial challenges that prevent them from purchasing textbooks for their classes in a timely manner.
Psyched for Student Psychology Memberships
Campus: SJC Long Island
Summary: A donation of $30 will help provide one SJC Long Island Psychology major in their junior year with a membership to the American Psychological Association (APA). The goal is to raise $1,800 and provide all 60 juniors with this valuable membership.
Chalk & Wire Subscription for Child Study Majors
Campus: SJC Brooklyn and SJC Long Island
Summary: The subscription for a Chalk & Wire account is $150 and the College requires each child study major to purchase an account to upload artifacts used for institutional assessment. Students upload artifacts every semester as an undergraduate, and if they stay with the College, as graduate students. Although this helps provide students with valuable experiences needed for the classroom, it is often a financial challenge — especially during COVID-19. Several child study majors are still struggling to make their payments, and it is the College’s goal to raise money to provide this subscription for PELL eligible students.
Sisters of St. Joseph Scholarship
Campus: SJC Long Island
Summary: The Sisters of St. Joseph have guided the teaching and learning community of the College for decades. In 2018, an anonymous donor established this scholarship to honor the Sisters of St. Joseph and their lifetime of dedication and service to others. Applicants of this scholarship need to show, through documentation, a lifestyle of service to others which reflects several Sisters of St. Joseph maxims. This scholarship is awarded to a full-time undergraduate, SJC Long Island student who has demonstrated strong academic achievement and progress and financial need.
Student Emergency Fund (Tuition Assistance)
Campus: SJC Brooklyn and SJC Long Island
Summary: This fund is for those students faced with a daunting challenge that has made it difficult for them to pay the costs associated with going to college, as well as every day expenses. This fund is to help those students continue their studies at SJC.
Professor John Skinnon Accounting Scholarship
Campus: SJC Long Island
Summary: Professor John Skinnon was a long-standing and beloved member of the Accounting department at St. Joseph’s. When he passed away in 2019, he had served as the chair of the Department of Accounting and as an assistant professor at SJC Long Island. Skinnon was also the co-founder of Skinnon and Faber, CPAs, P.C. This scholarship fund was established in his memory to benefit an undergraduate SJC Long Island accounting major, in the MBA in Accounting or MA of Accounting programs. The student must have demonstrated academic achievement and show dedication to the profession of accounting.
SJC and Hope House
Campus: SJC Brooklyn and SJC Long Island
Summary: SJC and Hope House work together to align their missions of service, social responsibility and spiritual values. With increasing tuition and costs, the attendees need additional funding and the College needs the support of its alumni and the Hope House community to keep these students on the path to graduation.
Sisters of St. Joseph Pilgrimage to Le Puy, France
Campus: SJC Brooklyn and SJC Long Island
Summary: Help two deserving SJC students join the Association of Colleges of Sisters of St. Joseph pilgrimage to Le Puy, France, the ancestral home of the order, in 2022.