by Katie Shaw
At the April 2 ASWU meeting, President Beck Taylor presented a giant check, both literally and financially, for $50,000 for Million Meals to ASWU President Ian Robins.
The $50,000 has been included in previous reports of the amount fund raised so far, but the check proves that Taylor achieved his goal, and officially brings the total amount up to $130,000.
“We have been calculating that in, but I didn’t know we were officially over halfway,” senior Veronica Fetzer said.
When Taylor and ASWU decided to take on Million Meals last fall, Taylor committed to raising $50,000, and he followed up on his promise, Chief of Staff Rhosetta Rhodes said. The name on the check was “friends of Whitworth,” a collection of donors who have chosen to stay anonymous.
“I believe [the donors are] people who want to see the community built up,” Robins said.
Robins, assistant dean of students Dayna Jones, and seniors Herman Valdez and Audrey Evans were the only ones who knew ahead of time that Taylor was coming.
“It’s a really cool commitment for Whitworth. It’s something that’s been attempted before, but never achieved. I hope we’ll continue to dream big,” Fetzer said.
Printing the oversized check was Taylor’s idea, Rhodes said. Rhodes contacted the on-campus print shop a month in advance about whether they could create the check, and found out that they could have it done in about two days.
“Sometimes we think we aren’t capable of making a difference. But if we continue to work together, we can. Beck’s participation set a good example,” Rhodes said.
The students have raised $7,000 in a month, Fetzer said.
“We’re really planning on pushing hard to the end,” Fetzer said. “Now that we’re over halfway there, it will go a lot faster.”
Fetzer is an intern at Generation Alive, and is the committee head for the campus engagement committee. Fetzer and her team are in charge of events promoting Million Meals, such as the upcoming Stories of Hunger on April 16 and involving aspects of campus life, such as athletics, faculty and staff and dorm competitions.