For a 40th time in the 100-plus year history of Georgia Southern University, community volunteers canvassed Bulloch County to raise money for an annual “A Day for Southern” fundraising campaign.
On Tuesday, the nearly 150 volunteers visited businesses throughout the day and helped collect a total of $2,111,160, which will help promote college academics, athletics, arts, and more — aiding the university with costs not covered by state funds.
The tally shatters the previous high-water mark ($1,417,799) set last year.
“As this university continues to grow, Statesboro and Bulloch County continue to grow with us, and this is a wonderful two-way street,” said University President Brooks A. Keel. “We have always enjoyed tremendous support from the community. Statesboro and Bulloch County stepped up big this year in a major way to give us not only a record-setting number but also a record-setting opportunity as we move forward.”
The “A Day for Southern” campaign, a joint effort between the Georgia Southern University Foundation and the Georgia Southern University Athletic Foundation, has now raised more than $1 million annually every year since 1998.
“This is one of the most important events we have on this campus, for this university. It is the best example of the great relationship between the community and Georgia Southern,” Keel said during a breakfast event kicking off the day at the Nessmith-Lane Conference Center. “The contributions touch the entire gamut of what Georgia Southern University has to offer. Virtually every academic department receives some benefit, and, of course, athletics are a part. Everything is wrapped into this campaign.”
Funds collected through the fundraiser support scholarships, faculty development, athletics, and cultural programs such as the Georgia Southern Museum, the Center for Wildlife Education, the Garden of the Coastal Plain, the Performing Arts Center and Symphony Georgia Southern, Keel said.
Tuesday morning, before boots hit the ground, the university hosted the breakfast to thank volunteers and allow a few speakers tell what Georgia Southern, and the community support it receives, has meant to their lives.
A pair of students, both attending school with university scholarships, spoke at the event.
“I cannot possibly convey to you in this amount of time how thankful and appreciative I am of my scholarship,” said Laynie Brown, an exercise science major, 1906 Scholar, and member of the college’s Honor's Program. “The people in this community and at Georgia Southern University are truly special.”
Manrey Saint-Amour, a general studies major, and junior center for the Eagles football team, told the audience: “Without the scholarship from Georgia Southern, I don’t know where I’d be. I could be back at home, working at a restaurant, at community college, or at some other school, unhappy.
“Because of the Eagle Fund, the donors and delegates at Georgia Southern, I am allowed to be here. I can put on that helmet every Saturday, and put on that blue and white and be a part of the tradition,” he continued. “I can work hard, meet people I never thought I’d meet, and get an education — a free one. And there are 400 other athletes who have different stories and different backgrounds that, because of you guys, have been given an opportunity to do what they love and receive an education.”
Following breakfast, Keel and 2013 A Day for Southern community chairwoman Phyllis Thompson, who is the president of the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce, made the first official visit of the morning to Statesboro Floor Covering.
Owners Roy and Deborah Thompson said they were happy to continue a long streak of annual contributions.
“Georgia Southern gives back to Statesboro, Bulloch County and this whole area, and it is our pleasure to give back to Georgia Southern,” said Roy Thompson, who is also a Bulloch County commissioner. “We were blessed to have Georgia Southern placed here in this community. It has helped so many people.”
Jeff Harrison may be reached at (912) 489-9454.