Husky Pride: Current students continue the tradition of giving

If you want to know what graduating seniors think about philanthropy, ask Cullen White. The past ASUW President has witnessed giving from UW students reach new heights in the '06-'07 academic year. This generosity has manifested itself through numerous projects across the University, including the Husky Pride Fund, the Medal of Honor Memorial Project, and the Dream Project.

From the genesis of the Husky Pride campaign to invoke the school spirit and camaraderie of their peers, to developing the fund to assist their fellow students, the Class of 2007 has shown a contagious penchant for philanthropy. What began as a t-shirt slogan for ASUW became a school-wide movement to bring students together for a larger cause, to give back to the University and to each other. "At the end of the day, regardless of our differences, we're all Huskies." explained Cullen. "We wanted to express a message of shared support."

Cullen and past ASUW Vice President Sam E Al-Khoury developed a novel means of utilizing the time-honored tradition of leaving tips at coffee counters when they noticed that when they purchased coffee on campus, they never saw any tip jars. Sam elaborated "We realized that the cafes across campus weren't allowed to accept tips, and that this lost income could be used to benefit UW students." Working with University administration, they set up change jars to allow coffee customers the opportunity to give directly to student needs, and their peers responded. Soon the project expanded to include the Husky Tee competition, a design contest to create a t-shirt that expressed what the University means to its students. The winning design was produced, and the proceeds from the sale of the t-shirts go directly to the Husky Pride Fund.

The Husky Pride Fund ultimately reduces the financial barriers that prevent students from engaging the University of Washington and experiencing everything that its campuses has to offer. The ASUW directs contributions through the Husky Pride Fund to multiple student-support areas. The foremost, emergency relief, provides students with extraordinary changes in circumstance to continue their education at the University. When Cullen's father died at the end of fall quarter his sophomore year, he received money for school because his father was a veteran, and was able to remain focused on his studies. Realizing the importance of this unanticipated support, Cullen decided that the Husky Pride must offer similar opportunities to help keep students in school.

The Husky Pride fund also encourages students to become more engaged in community activities throughout campus and the Pacific Northwest. And scholarship support through the fund allows students who might fall through the normal FAFSA scholarship-reward system to receive aid by showing that they are otherwise working their way through school and would benefit from the additional time spent in academic activities. Together, the Husky Pride fund's areas of support enrich the University experience for all members of the greater University community.

Students of the ASUW also spent that year raising funds for the Medal of Honor Memorial Project on the University of Washington Seattle campus. This memorial will commemorate UW alumni who have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military honor awarded in the United States.

Additionally, our students worked with University administration this past year to create the Dream Project. This high school outreach program partners UW students with first-generation and low-income students in Seattle area high schools to assist in the college admissions process, helping the high-schoolers achieve their goal of entering college while exposing UW students to the critical issues of social mobility and economic difficulty.

You can congratulate the Class of 2007 on all of these efforts and join in their spirit by giving to the Husky Pride Fund, the Medal of Honor Memorial, or the Dream Project.