50th Anniversary Giving Day: 30 hours of giving, sharing and celebrating

UWCSEA Foundation
16 December 2021

UWCSEA held our very first 50th Anniversary Giving Day on 14–15 December 2021, which proved to be an amazing success! In just 30 hours, we were able to raise over $450,000 from more than 730 donors to support the Scholarship Programme and our broader mission to make education a force to create a better world.

The entire community came together with a call to action to Give generously to the Scholarship Programme, Share excitement about Giving Day through social networks, and Celebrate and honour the College’s 50th birthday by cheering on fun and mission-inspired activities happening across all corners of the College. We set a goal to raise enough funding to provide access to a UWC education for at least two scholars, including one female scholar from Afghanistan, and we are thrilled to report that with generous support from across the UWCSEA community, we will be able to now support three scholars with the gift of a UWC education!  We look forward to sharing with you more about the young changemakers who will benefit from your support as they join UWC in the coming academic year.

Giving Day was not only a demonstration of generosity by parents, alumni, staff and friends of the College, it was also a testament to the collaborative spirit and sense of community that is vibrant across our campuses. We saw scholars joining primary school classrooms to share their stories and engage with our youngest learners, and birthday drumlines and mascot appearances to bring our celebrations to life. Global Concerns held a plant sale as part of Gifts that Give where proceeds supported the Giving Day scholarship goal, and so many fun activities took place at all student levels to support and celebrate 50 years of impact.

College President Carma Elliot worked with parent volunteers and Sodexo to bake special birthday treats, which were delivered by College leadership and scholars to hundreds of happy parents at morning drop off.  Parent Association, Pace and Parent Ambassador volunteers worked alongside UWCSEA staff and students to create buzz at Giving Day hubs on each campus–it was so nice to welcome parents to campus! Teachers and students wore blue on Dover Campus and green on East Campus to honour UWCSEA’s birthday. Morning Zumba brought energy and excitement to classrooms on East, and 50 Dover Campus teachers even jumped into the pool (fully dressed!) to commemorate our 50th birthday with a literal splash! Check out the fun video down below.

On behalf of all of us at UWCSEA, thank you for your generosity and steadfast commitment to our students and our mission to make education a force to unite nations, people and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.

Please view our thank you video below – a diverse expression of gratitude from all of us to everyone involved in helping to make Giving Day a day with lasting impact. 

"A UWC education will make me grow as a person, expand my horizons, and help open the doors to a more peaceful future."

– Boris, Scholar from Bolivia, Grade 11

 

"As a UWCSEA parent, I am grateful my son gets to learn in such a dynamic environment where he can dream big about helping to create the kind of world he wants to live in. I was inspired to support Giving Day because I feel there's no better gift to future generations than the gift of education."

– Jung Ah (Christina) Kim, Foundation Parent Ambassador

 

“Good education has always been the passport for a brighter future. Almost five decades after graduation, I continue to value the experiences I had and the friendships I made at UWCSEA. With my (first) gift I want to help others to have the same chance for a UWC education.”

– Gunter Fritsche, UWCSEA Alumnus, Class of 1977

Click on the icons below to access the highlights that took place during Giving Day on each campus!