In this month’s missive from a member of the University’s leadership team, Annual Giving and Alumni Relations Director Katie (Baum) O’Donnell looks back on the last few months of fundraising with immense gratitude.
Dear Alumni and Friends,
I’ll never forget sitting with Lauren Serna, my new-at-the-time colleague, on March 9th and looking at the registration list for our 2020 Florida Reunions. It was like looking at a baseball lineup of VIPs: a roster of some of my nearest and dearest alumni, the ones I get to soak up once a year in the Sunshine state, and sometimes, if I’m lucky, when a handful of them are back in Maine, at a lunch or gathering in the summer.
I was leaving that Thursday, with Lauren and her husband, Edward, right behind me the following day. We were headed on a whirlwind tour of west coast and east coast Florida for visits and introductions, updates on new programs, and spring event details. It was a kick-off to a full slate of spring travel events.
UMF Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations Katie (Baum) O’Donnell. (Photo by Ryan Mastrangelo.)
I know you can see where this is going. We canceled Florida. Then, Washington DC in April. Commencement in May. Beaver Bowl. Summer Reunion. Our first Denver gathering. Opportunities for us to be together, both to reminisce about our own years at Farmington and catch up with old friends, and to make new friends, and stay connected to what brings us all together: UMF.
What’s incredible to me is that, despite our physical distance, a shutdown campus, and canceled events, you all still stepped up. When we shouted for help, you asked what you could do.
When our students began to trek home in March, we began to hear from students of ways they needed just a little bit of help to stay safe and finish their classes for the semester. In the span of just a few weeks, we collected heartbreaking stories of students who were trying to do schoolwork but were bogged down by slow internet access, caring for younger siblings, living with family in a house that was too small, struggling to pay rent, looking after sick relatives, all the while dealing with the mental load of the global pandemic. Often, these young people were at a cusp where they weren’t eligible for a stimulus — though independent now, their parents had claimed them on their taxes last year.
The unprecedented UMF Crisis Fund raised about $14,500 in the span of 30 days, all while you – our dear alumni, faculty and staff, and friends – were experiencing your own crises. These monies were spent as quickly as it came in, given to students who were trying to just get by for the months of April and May.
In June, when I launched our annual June Match Challenge, I knew that even if we didn’t reach our goal of 250 donors to UMF for the month, it would be okay. I had already asked so much of you, and you took care of our most vulnerable students when they needed it the most. You can read more about the June Match Challenge here, but I’ll tell you the most important part here: you did it. Thank you.
This has been a hard 2020, for all of us, wherever we are. Some have fared better or worse than others. I am humbled to be the conduit between you and our beloved Farmington.
Best wishes,
Katie (Baum) O’Donnell ’07
Director of Annual Fund and Alumni Relations
As we head into a strange new time for higher education and welcome students back to campus in a few short weeks, our need to continue helping where we can continues. This fall will present unique challenges for many of our students, not unlike this spring. If you find yourself looking for ways to continue supporting students, please consider making a gift to The UMF Fund, for the University’s most urgent needs.
(Baum) O’Donnell graduated from UMF in 2007, earning a degree in creative writing. After a brief stint working within internal communications at Walt Disney Company in Florida, she returned to Maine to work for several years as a marketing assistant for an active retirement community, while volunteering for UMF’s alumni programming. In 2011, she found herself back at Farmington and her alma mater where she now serves as the director of the annual fund and alumni relations.