Dear UCF friends,
This week our nation celebrates National Philanthropy Week. With the upcoming holidays, it’s a popular time of year to give back, but for all of us, philanthropy is something that speaks to the human quality of generosity and informs and inspires our work every day. How fortunate we are to work in a field where lives are impacted because others choose to step up and make a difference. I urge each and every one of you to celebrate philanthropy on a daily basis instead of just once a year, because need has no season.
The generosity of others can be seen every day at UCF. The Knights Helping Knights Pantry provides food, clothes and toiletries to students in need. The UCF Community Volunteers Alumni Chapter regularly participates in local community projects, like stocking school supplies, painting homes for the elderly and cleaning up local beaches. And, there are countless other student groups making a difference every day.
Philanthropy at UCF can be seen through our many donors who give what they can. Their gifts help in so many ways, including providing scholarships to students – students like graduating senior Catherine Davies, who escaped civil war in Sierra Leone and plans to give back by creating jobs for women in her homeland.
Philanthropy at UCF can also be seen in the many buildings that were made possible through donor dollars – like the new Morgridge International Reading Center, funded by John and Carrie Morgridge. The state-of-the-art center will find solutions to worldwide illiteracy issues through partnership and shared research.
Giving back is so powerful and inspiring because it is voluntary. Through the goodness of our hearts, through our desire to see a better world, through our need to connect with others, we come together to improve the quality of life for as many people as we can. But even making an impact on just one life could mean the world to that person.
Join me in celebrating this national week of philanthropy every day, and let’s make our world and our university a better place for everyone. Thank you for all that you do.
Warm regards,
Robert J. Holmes, Jr.
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations