Financial hardships, medical bills, family emergencies and other devastating life alterations happen without warning and can drastically change the path of a K-State student. This is why K-State proud was started; to allow students to help other students.
Raising over $930,000 in just a matter of nine years, over 500 students have had the opportunity to stay enrolled at K-State and succeed while obtaining an exceptional education. This is the 10th year K-State Proud has had a presence on campus to support students attending this university and the future continues to be bright. The campaign has the potential and momentum to reach the goal of $1 million in donation totals this year to celebrate such an incredible milestone of giving.
Additionally, to reiterate how special the 10-year milestone is, there will be a fall and spring campaign week. In the past, while the campaign has always been the entirety of the year, the main week of focus has been in the spring. This fall, K-State Proud is giving students another opportunity to donate and to get involved in a remarkable student-led philanthropy.
K-State Proud’s success is a direct correlation of the family theme that is incorporated into every aspect of this university. Christine Caban, current K-State Proud co-chair, speaks positively about the campaign by saying “It is so telling of the atmosphere we have here at K-State,” she further explained, “it’s one of the many reasons I, and so many others are proud to be Wildcats.”
K-State Proud, for some students, is their first means of involvement and philanthropy and has room for improvement in that aspect. Caban, and all other supporters, would love for K-State Proud to grow in participation as it continues to give students the opportunity to stay on campus when circumstances would have them elsewhere. One way this has already occured is their huge launch of the campaign for those individuals and organizations that participated in Early Buy-In. Between the live music, free food, and various activities to bring students in, this event showcased the atmosphere that K-State Proud hopes to exhibit the entire year and beyond.
Unique and innovative is the path the co-chairs went for this year and with it being the 10th year of K-State Proud’s existence, those goals are well fitting. 10 years of student-led philanthropy is a remarkable achievement on any campus and the future of K-State Proud is positive. Taylor Fry, co-chair of the campaign, speaks on the future of the campaign and its future leadership stating, “I think the main thing we as co-chairs are trying to do is allow K-State Proud to grow and change. When things are new and different, sometimes new opportunities arise that can help an organization for many years into the future.” She relays a point to future chairs of the campaign saying, “after seeing how this year goes, we hope to encourage the future co-chairs to make their year unique and not to be afraid to step outside the box and do something new.”
There are various ways to be involved in this philanthropy and the future it entails. Each year, the current volunteers train newly interested students so they are able to promote the mission on campus, to their individual student organizations, and allow it to spread to diverse friend groups.
Volunteering for this philanthropy allows one to appreciate their own circumstances and aid in other student’s unfortunate conditions. It opens up opportunities for students to support the goals of the chairs and assist in preparing for the coming years. Garrett Kays, senior in Agricultural Economics, articulates on his unique reason for volunteering and said, “I am a third generation K-Stater so having the opportunity to come to K-State was something I have always been passionate for.” He adds, “However, I have recognized that paying for school does not come easy at all so I realized that I wanted to help students stay at the university that I called home.”
The motto of K-State Proud is students helping students and consequently makes this campus even more distinct and special by showcasing the extent of how students here help one another out, just like a family. K-State students appreciate each other and this is proven by the success of the campaign. Financial hardships and unlucky circumstances can transpire on anyone, but the opportunity to attend a university as great as ours should always be a possibility.
