By Kyle Kittredge, Contributing Writer
The motto “I Believe in UNH” has become a popular slogan at the university, and with the Month of Believing in full force, it will be more and more apparent.
From mid-November to mid-December, University Advancement is running an engagement campaign focused on four themes: community service, giving thanks, caring and pride in the university.
This new initiative is being spearheaded by the annual giving team, with the support of many campus partners to make the programming a success. The goal of the campaign is for all members of the UNH community, on-campus and afar, to celebrate their pride and belief in the university. While this happens all year long, the month is a special time of year for everyone to feel the UNH love.
The first theme of the month was UNH Serves.
On Veterans Day, over 500 students participated in community service. They worked with over 30 local charities and individuals, helping them with various tasks such as mulching, stocking, raking, cleaning, canvasing and more. This project greatly impacted the town of Durham and surrounding Seacoast towns and went as far as Manchester.
In addition, alumni all across the country volunteered time to benefit their own communities during this week of service.
The second theme of the month was UNH Thanks, which was demonstrated at the “Thank You” Photo Booth setup in the Memorial Union Building on Nov. 18. Over 100 members of the UNH community attended the event to share messages of what they are thankful for in their lives.
Katie Oslin and Jackie Peterson, annual giving staff from University Advancement, explained that the timing of this campaign is perfect leading up to Thanksgiving and other holidays when “people are already feeling warm and fuzzy.” The feel-good campaign has been great for them so far, and they hope to gather more content on social media sites from the UNH community.
Peterson described that the main goal of the campaign is for “people to be active in celebrating school spirit and for all members of the UNH community to participate and reach out to others.”
The social media aspect of the campaign is being greatly encouraged since it offers a chance for students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, friends and others to witness the good things happening at the university. The intent is to be able to have more than just the students on-campus involved in this. The feedback has been various and plentiful with lots of students sharing their stories and pictures on the Month of Believing website, as well as various social media websites, which are linked to the Month of Believing website.
On Dec. 3, there is “Say Something Nice,” where a megaphone will be placed in front of Dimond Library and next to Thompson Hall for students to shout out words of kindness to others passing by.
Dec. 4 is “Random Acts of Kindness.” Balloons and cards will be passed around as an incentive to do something nice for someone and pass it on and share it on social media.
Then on Dec. 8 is the School Spirit Competition in the MUB from 12:30-2 p.m. in which students can take a selfie with Wild E. Cat if they’re dressed in UNH gear for the chance to win a prize package. Throughout the month there will be prize giveaways for a prize for some people that participate.
“This upcoming half of the month will be even more engaging for students, alumni, faculty, staff and others. We hope to see a lot of involvement,” Peterson said.
