During the College's first Giving Day, the Lucy community raised £7220 boosting vital student wellbeing initiatives
Over 24 hours from noon on Giving Tuesday, 3 December 2019, the Lucy Cavendish College community came together to raise £7204 (including donations made offline) boosting vital student wellbeing initiatives. Furthermore, £1830 was unlocked pound for pound, to support students with thanks to the Harding Challenge.
100 Lucy members and friends generously made a gift helping to surpass the target of £5500, while a global team of social media ambassadors helped spread the word far and wide. Supporters gave from Cambridge and beyond, with gifts received from China, Australia, the Philippines and Brazil.
All gifts will provide much-needed additional funding for student support initiatives, including the provision of student hardship funding, the College nurse and student counselling services, student bursaries, contributions to the Students' Union, Take-a-Break wellbeing sessions during exam term and, of course, the upkeep of the College’s guinea pigs.
College President Professor Dame Madeleine Atkins said:
“I was overjoyed to see the global Lucy community rally behind such a deserving cause. It is so encouraging to know that we will be able to enhance the Cambridge experience for our students, as a result of this generosity. The Fellows, staff and I could not be more thankful to everyone who took part. We are proud that this initiative has demonstrated that crucial part of Lucy’s DNA: its commitment to providing a supportive environment which enables students from all backgrounds to thrive.”
With thanks to generous matched funding opportunities supplied by several Lucy Cavendish alumnae, the Reed Charitable Trust and the unlocking potential provided by the University of Cambridge Harding Challenge, the impact of all gifts was doubled or tripled at no extra cost to the donor.
Giving Tuesday is an international charitable initiative established in response to consumer-focused Black Friday and Cyber Monday events, which have gained traction worldwide in recent years. The College was delighted to partner with The Big Give’s Christmas Challenge 2019 in order to make #LucyGives possible.