Celebration of Giving at Adelphi University

Community service and philanthropy are integral to academic and extracurricular life at Adelphi University, and the holiday season provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on the remarkable kindness and generosity of Adelphi students, faculty, staff and alumni. Through philanthropy and volunteer work, they have strengthened the University, the metropolitan New York region and communities across the globe. Here we celebrate some of the many 2015 initiatives and their impressive outcomes.

ADELPHI NY STATEWIDE BREAST CANCER HOTLINE & SUPPORT PROGRAM
Since its inception 35 years ago, the Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program has been at the forefront of promoting awareness of breast cancer issues and delivering free services and programs. October—Breast Cancer Awareness Month—is the hotline’s biggest fund-raising month. Funds raised for the hotline in October 2015 exceeded those raised in October 2014 by 30 percent, thanks to significant campus efforts. These included:

• Think Pink initiatives led by Adelphi’s Health and Wellness Peer Education Center, such as sales of pink panther paws for support, decorating Adelphi’s walkway’s with “Think Pink” messages as part of the Ephemeral Chalk Up project and the formation of a human pink ribbon that was covered by Newsday and Fox 5 News
• A fun run/walk hosted by Adelphi Athletics

CENTER FOR STUDENT INVOLVEMENT
Many student organizations conduct fund-raising activities throughout the year.

Adelphi’s Greek organizations have raised more than $4,000 in 2015 to benefit a variety of causes. Some examples are:

• Delta Phi Epsilon hosted its fourth annual 65 Roses Gala, which benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and collected more than $2,500 from the admission fee and raffle tickets.
• Delta Gamma hosted Anchor Bowl in honor of Service for Sight, a festive flag football competition open to all members of the Adelphi community.

Other organizations held more than 30 separate events to raise money and resources to expand community service engagement. For example:

• C.A.L.I.B.E.R. (Cause to Achieve Leadership Intelligence Brotherhood Excellence and Respect)—Adelphi’s largest community service student organization, with 106 members—planned 18 events for the Fall 2015 semester. The Out of the Darkness Walk on October 25, 2015, raised funds for suicide prevention.

ADELPHI ATHLETICS
To build a vibrant sense of community within each athletic team, Adelphi student athletes raise funds and volunteer for numerous charities and causes. To date, since the start of the 2015–2016 academic year, student athletes have participated in 1,548 community service hours. Some examples:

• The baseball team is in the lead among the athletic teams for time spent volunteering—426 hours so far—following its annual charity game, which benefited the Cancer Center for Kids at Winthrop-University Hospital.
• Other teams have supported the Long Island Brain Tumor Walk, the Welcome Wagon and Tobay Triathlon, among others.
• The members of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee actively support the NCAA’s alliance with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America by volunteering in classrooms as part of the National Education Association (NEA) Read Across America program.
• At the global level, student athletes traveled to Costa Rica to provide sports clinics in partnership with Special Olympics of Costa Rica.

ALICE BROWN EARLY LEARNING CENTER
Every fall, Adelphi’s Alice Brown Early Learning Center (ELC) hosts The ELC Community Gives Back—an event to teach the preschool children in the program about the importance of sharing and helping others less fortunate. This year, two Adelphi student interns from the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies—Stephanie Ganor and Christina Dempsey—organized a food drive to benefit The INN (Interfaith Nutrition Network) organization, which gives aide to those who are homeless on Long Island. Marjpina Ramos, Alpha Epsilon Phi president, also helped with the food drive project. The ELC children decorated the donation boxes and got to learn about The INN and its mission from a guest speaker from the organization.

PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT FOR ADELPHI
Adelphi has many generous alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends to be grateful for. Their generosity over the past year has been unprecedented. For example:

• This past September Adelphi announced that, for the first time in University history, alumni giving to the Adelphi University Annual Fund exceeded 10 percent, thanks to gifts of all sizes.
• Forty-four percent of alumni employees showed their support for their alma mater by making gifts in 2014–2015. Their support was instrumental in Adelphi exceeding the 10 percent giving rate milestone.
• As of November 2015, 181 alumni volunteered their time and shared their talent and knowledge with current students and fellow alumni as mentors, council members, speakers and event hosts.
• Other alumni and friends provided valuable expertise, guidance and support to the University by serving on school-based advisory groups for the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, the College of Nursing and Public Health, and the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, among others.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION
Adelphi faculty and staff are deeply committed to furthering social justice and preserving our planet. Some sample initiatives include:

• Jessie Klein, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology and criminal justice, implemented the Creating Compassionate Communities program during National Bullying Prevention Month in New York City schools to help prevent school violence.
• Through its Project Water Program, which encourages the use of refillable water bottles, Adelphi became the first university in New York State to divert one million bottles from landfills.

The initiatives presented here offer just a snapshot of the innumerable ways that volunteerism and philanthropy by Adelphi students, faculty, staff and alumni have strengthened our University and our local and global communities.

Adelphi students, faculty, staff and alumni are encouraged to keep President Christine M. Riordan apprised of their efforts by sharing news online or reaching out via email at president@adelphi.edu.

Thank you!