Photos By: Provided by Anderson University
On March 31, the Anderson University (AU) family will turn generosity into a shared tradition, coming together to give back to the university that provides intellectual, cultural, and recreational opportunities to students and the community. The campus will be filled with festivities including a band, food trucks, games, photo booths, and a celebrity lunch, to celebrate “A Day.” This day of giving has been an AU tradition since the late 1990s, evolving from a day in which community leaders solicited donations from local businesses to a day that unites students, university employees, alumni, and the entire community through celebrations that encourage generosity. “A Day” serves to expand access to higher education though student scholarships and enhance students’ academic experience by strengthening the university’s programs.
“A Day” offers the opportunity to support seventeen different causes, all of which directly pertain to strengthening the academic programs at AU. Chad Alewine, Executive Director of Annual Giving, highlighted a few of the causes.
“One that really tugs at my heart, is our Teddy Gets a Checkup outreach program in which our Nursing students go into schools and perform checkups on teddy bears to show children what to expect at the doctor and try to relieve some of the anxiety they have about getting checkups. The children get to keep the teddy bears, and they have a more positive outlook on going to the doctor. We need support for that program in transporting medical supplies and educational materials when students are out in the community.”
The Cybersecurity program, currently in the top 10% nationally, is another cause supported through “A Day” giving. Contributions will fund program enhancements that include additional sensors and technology, providing more hands-on education for cybersecurity with energy, water, emergency, and agriculture systems, and result in expanded career opportunities.
Branding enhancements to the Abney Athletic Center and the athletic campus will be enhanced through “A Day” giving. Says Alewine,
“We welcome more than 50,000 guests in the Abney each year and we want to get more school pride in the building with updated logos and school colors and improvements to the hall of fame plaques and trophy cases.”
The university is targeting alumni to support the cause of the senior gift. This year’s senior gift is a marble seal outside of Merritt Hall, the administration building where prospective students and their parents go when they first arrive on campus. The seal will be engraved with the phrase, “There is only one thing that only God can know; what Anderson means to me.” Alewine says the impact of this phrasing will shape the way future students and their families feel about Anderson University.
“We feel like seeing this seal, with this phrase that students chose, as soon as they step on campus, will impact how current and prospective students and parents see our campus and the work being done here through Christ.”
A designated day of giving has been a tradition at AU since the early 1990s, but it did not evolve into a day of celebratory activities and campus and community-wide giving until 2017 when the university officially gave it the name “A Day.” That year a total of $93,771 was raised. In 2025, $783,000 was raised with 1400 donors. While the overarching goal of “A Day” is to raise funds for program improvements and scholarships, there is a bigger purpose to the day; teaching students that giving back, in any way that you are able to give, is an important part of advancing the university’s long-term impact on students and the community.
“We’re trying to teach students about the importance of giving back, even it it’s not making a monetary gift right now,” says Alewine. “Even if it’s just participating in the activities, hopefully students will see the importance of giving now and when they become alums, they will make gifts to the university. This is also a day to celebrate the students because they are going to be the most greatly impacted by current and future gifts.”
“A Day” is an event that anybody can be a part of. You don’t have to be an alum or have ties to the university to contribute and participate.
“We want the community to rally with us because it helps both AU and the city of Anderson to grow and be celebrated. There is no gift too small. Even a gift of $10 adds up,” says Alewine.
If you or your business would like more information on the “A Day” causes or would like to make a contribution to a cause, contact Chad Alewine at Calewine@andersonuniversity.edu or adaytogive@andersonuniversity.edu.