Although they don’t agree on exactly why, student leaders who helped organize a dining-point donation drive don’t dispute their fundraiser could have yielded better results.
The Student Government Association and Jelly for the Belly were among the student groups asking students to donate their surplus dining points to the Keep Me Maryland Fund, which works to keep students from dropping out of school for financial reasons.
Organizers expected tens of thousands of dollars in donations, in line with the more than $20,000 the drive raked in last year.
But even as they expanded their campaign this year to include Terrapin Express and Terp Bucks, SGA spokeswoman Staci Armezzani said the total amount came to $3,101.65.
“Obviously, these numbers are much lower than what’s expected,” said Armezzani, a junior communication and criminology and criminal justice major. But, she added, “We were not disappointed by any means.”
The donations came from a total of 159 students, including 88 freshmen, she said.
Armezzani said the SGA suspected the reason for the low numbers was because the drive — which ran from Nov.1 through Dec. 1 — only covered one focus date: Nov. 19. Also, she added, most freshmen were still unfamiliar with the points system and how much they could spend.
The SGA is already working with Dining Services to host another drive in the spring, when it expects much greater results because freshmen will be much more familiar with the system, Armezzani said.
But Hayley Niad, founder and president of Jelly for the Belly, said she thought the reason for the low numbers was that Dining Services did not educate its staff about the drive or spread the word enough among students.
Niad said when she herself tried to donate her points, the dining hall cashier did not know how to process them, nor did the manager on duty when he was called up to help.
“I already raised my concerns to Dining Services, and they agreed it was important the staff were well-informed,” she said. “I think their advertising could have been a little bit stronger. I think the signs could have been more visible and they could have done more to get the word out.”
Niad said with its small membership and after seeing such low results, she wasn’t sure if Jelly for the Belly would put its resources into this same drive again.
However, Niad added that even with the low numbers, she doesn’t regret working on the campaign this semester.
“It’s not always about the quantitative success, but the collaboration between students towards a shared goal,” she said.
villanueva at umdbk dot com
