FALL 2012 | St. Lawrence University Magazine 17
PHILANTHROPY IN ACTION
One final call put the
student Calling All
Saints callers over their
goal this year.
Guess who got the call?
by Meg Bernier ’07, M’09
The tension was mounting. With
only two-and-a-half hours left in their
season, the Calling All Saints student
staff found themselves just $1,800 shy
of $750,000, their goal for the year.
“
In my first couple of years, we set out
to raise anywhere between $600,000
and $700,000, and we’ve raised the bar
higher each year,” says Associate Direc-
tor of Annual Giving and Laurentian
Engagement Dennis Morreale ’07. “In
my five years overseeing the program,
we’ve never quite gotten there, despite
the dedication of our students.”
At 6:30 that Thursday evening of Fi-
nals Week, four callers started working
the phones, chipping away at the deficit.
A $1,000 pledge brightened the light at
the end of the very long tunnel. The fi-
nal half-hour flew and with five minutes
to go, two pledges came in – $200 and
$7 – leaving them just $23 short.
The students, including Danzel Blash ’13,
could almost taste victory. As the man-
agers leafed through the list of names,
Morreale remembered he hadn’t made
his gift.
“
We
had three
minutes
left, so I
picked up
the phone
and called
him,”
Blash
recalls.
“
Even
though he was in the room with us, it
was important to do it the right way.”
Blash solicited $24 from Morreale,
an amount that put them $1 over their
goal.
“
Everyone was ecstatic,” Morreale says.
“
Danzel led everyone with a ‘Go Saints!’
cheer. It was incredible.”
Their accomplishment didn’t come
easily. “Each caller makes 50 to 100
calls a night but speaks with someone
only about 10 percent of the time,
with only a fraction of those making a
pledge,” Morreale explains.
Despite the challenges he faces, Blash
loves what he does. “One of the perks
is getting to know alumni and telling
them about me and what’s happening
on campus,” he says.
“
Some people play
games and even ask
us to sing the alma
mater. One time an
alumnus opened up
the most recent St.
Lawrence maga-
zine and said if I
answered his three
questions correctly
he’d pledge $1,000. I
got them all right.”
The Bronx, N.Y., native believes every
minute he spends placing a call makes a
difference. “The money we raise helps
every part of St. Lawrence,” he says.
“
Where I’m from it’s important to give
back to something you’ve been a part
of, help people and make the experience
even better.”
Calling One Saint
St. Lawrence is excited to introduce you to the new and improved
my
St. Lawrence, our online alumni direc-
tory and community.
Register today at alumni.stlawu.edu.
New features include:
·
Ability to submit your class notes online
·
Access to your giving history
·
Online volunteer resources
·
Expanded search capability within the alumni directory
·
Keep things simple by using your login from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, Yahoo or AOL for
my
St. Lawrence!
Blash