The Call Center plans to host their first ever Celebrity Night where students, Truman State University President Sue Thomas and a few academic department heads will reach out to alumni, families and friends to raise funds for the University.
The Call Center operates out of McClain Hall 215 year round. In addition to being active during the academic year, the Call Center also hosts phonathons much like their Celebrity Night.
The Celebrity Night will last from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 5.
Ernie Hughes, vice president for university advancement, said Thomas will be joining the students employed at the Call Center to help make phone calls during the Celebrity Night.
“One thing I did at my old job [was] we actually got leadership and the deans to pick one night a year and to call the students,” Hughes said. “It gives them an opportunity to reach back to some of their alumni from different schools or former athletes.”
Engagement director Stacy Tucker-Potter said the Call Center raises money for over 700 foundation funds, as well as seven crowdsource funding projects, such as creating an annual Truman State Film Festival, sending mock trial to nationals, and a fund to support art majors.
“We try to call pretty much any alumni who has a phone number, essentially,” Tucker-Potter said. “We also call parents of current students. We have a parent council that every year determines a fundraising initiative to help improve the campus for all students, and so that’s what we specifically focus on when we call parents. When we call alumni, we cover over 700 foundation funds. We try to interest them in an area of campus that means something to them.”
Annual fund officer Dylan Phillips said the University has received 80,162 gifts, $4,884,990.81 in monetary donations and had 146,086 conversations with callers through the Call Center.
Phillips said the Call Center has worked with around 800 students and has been employing students for close to 20 years.
Junior Ashley Merideth, call center student coordinator, will be one of the six students making calls with President Thomas and academic department heads for the Celebrity Night.
“We’ve had a lot of budget cuts in the last couple years, and working at Tel-Alumni is one of the most important jobs on campus because we work to make sure that everybody is still able to afford to come to Truman, so I think it’s nice that we’re innovating,” said Merideth. “We’re trying new things to make sure that we’re still able to connect with our alumni and still able to get the support that we need to be the best that we can be.”