HWS News
29 April 2022 • Arts Give Write Now Challenge Smashes Fundraising Goal
Through a 48-hour giving challenge, the HWS community showed up to support writing enrichment and peer writing mentorship.
The Give Write Now Challenge, a 48-hour fundraising challenge to support the Writing Colleagues Program, was a breakout success. Through the generosity of the HWS community, $28,043 was donated to support writing excellence at the Colleges.
“The support of the HWS community means so much because it will allow us to grow this very special program,” says Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric and co-director of the Writing Colleagues Program Hannah Dickinson. “The social-academic community the Writing Colleagues Program fosters is truly unique. I feel fortunate to work with such talented undergraduate writers, extraordinary peer-mentors and young people dedicated to improving the educational experience for all learners at HWS.”
The fundraising total includes a challenge gift of $15,000 from Suzanne Rutstein ’95, P’23 and Charles Rutstein ’94, P’23, whose matching gift landed when the Give Write Now Challenge reached 225 donors. Many alums contributed to the program, with alums of the Classes of 1995 and 2016 tying for the most individual donations.
The funds raised during the challenge will grow the Writing Colleagues, bringing the program closer to supporting every First-Year Seminar. Funds will also expand and sustain the Writing Colleagues Intern Program; bring prominent scholars in the field of writing studies to campus; create professional development opportunities throughout the 2022-23 academic year; and sustain the First-Year Writing Prize.
Throughout the campaign, students, alums and faculty created video testimonials about how the Writing Colleagues have enriched their campus experience.
Read more about the First-Year Writing Prize and the annual Writing Colleague Induction Ceremony.
In the photograph above, faculty, President Joyce P. Jacobsen and Suzanne Rutstein ’95, P’23 gather with Writing Colleagues in 2019.
