When our Ferro Alumni Center team tossed around ideas for a thank-you gift to our donors this year, someone mentioned making a beaver mask, complete with whiskers and teeth. While we got a few chuckles, and Angie LeClair ’13 did a mockup just for fun, we weren’t sure if it was worth investing in something so goofy.

Turns out, goofy is just what 2020 needed.

It took only a couple of days after the first round hit the mail for messages to come flooding in – over e-mail, phone voicemails, Facebook comments and direct messages, and even over Twitter! Selfies abound, and stories of being stopped in public – “Hey! I went to UMF too!” way and even an “I love your squirrel face!” to Michelle Josephson (pictured, top-center, a UMF parent who did take the time to correct the rodent misidentification). The most frequently asked question?

“How the heck do I get one?”

Skyler Bowford ’13, our student worker MJ Hammond ‘22, and I began counting through the masks in our workroom.

We definitely did not have enough in stock for the demand.

But, demand is demand. With MJ and Skyler suddenly undertaking what we can only assume is Amazon.com-like shipping and packaging, we managed to send out all of our first round of masks, and more have just arrived this week. We’re at the ready.

Want one of your own? Make your gift of at least $10 between now and the end of the year, and our team will drop them in the mail to you.

Give now

Stay safe, stay masked, stay healthy, and send us your selfies. We love them all.

Katie (Baum) O’Donnell ’07 is the director of the annual fund and alumni relations. She typically saves her beaver mask for special occasions.