The College raised more than $260,000 in the first three days of the annual student telethon and with eight days remaining is well on the way to achieving a $500,000 goal.
Each year student volunteers raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the College by making calls across the country. The College's hope is that direct personal contact between students present and past helps convince alumni to make donations.
Money raised by the telethon goes toward the Alumni Fund portion of the College's Will To Excel Capital Campaign, which pays for the general budget, faculty salaries and the development of campus facilities.
The Capital Campaign has already raised $310 million of its $425 million goal.
The telethon posted record figures for its first day on Sunday, raising four times as much as the first day last year. Fifty-two students called more than 800 alumni, who donated $159,668. The telethon raised more than $40,000 on Tuesday and $58,000 last night.
Betsy Hawkanson '94, one of the telethon's directors, said she hopes the whole student body will come out and support the effort.
"We're hoping to get five hundred callers this year - we've had a great turnout so far."
Vice President of Development and Alumni Affairs Stanley Colla said the fundraising is entirely volunteer driven.
"The support we saw Sunday was very encouraging," Colla said. "Students came out in force and made calls all afternoon long - that was the key to Sunday's success. If this type of volunteer support continues, more records are bound to fall," he said.
Hawkanson said she hopes to raise more money this year than last year.
"Last year we raised $405,000, this year we hope to break $500,000," Hawkanson said.
Students said they enjoy the telethon for the interaction it fosters with alumni.
"They want to know about who you are. I have been asked what my major is, and what plans I have for the future, and now, of course, they are asking about how bad the weather is up here," Nicole Schmidt '94 said.
"Some of the alumni I have called have been pretty sad," Nadine Haig '97 said. "They are going through hard financial times." Many alumni said they were pleased to be contacted from students who attend their alma mater, but do not need the calls from the students to find out about what is going on at Dartmouth.
"I'm very interested in the new curriculum at Dartmouth," Ives Harvey '70 said. "I like to talk to the students, but I find out as much as I can about the curriculum from the Alumni bulletin and class newsletters."
Richard Hennessey '70 said, "I find out about what is going on at Dartmouth through the alumni bulletin and right now I am very interested in finding out about the diversification of the student body, and what the school is doing to encourage more minorities to apply."
Hawkanson and fellow seniors Mitch Jacobs, Kristin Lester, and Chris Umscheid direct the telethon.
