As Blair celebrated its third-annual Day of Giving on April 5, the School reached a number of milestones: more than 700 donors made gifts during a 24-hour period in one day for the Blair Fund. Blair thanks Todd Ruppert '74, who donated $100 for every new gift made by an alumnus or alumna who graduated from Blair in the 1970s. Over the course of the day, Blair students joined alumni, parents and friends in celebrating 170 years of excellence with gifts of their own; and, across the globe, members of the Blair community shared their love for and support of the School on social media.
"Our Day of Giving is a dedicated opportunity for our community to recognize the teachers, coaches and mentors who have impacted so many lives by making a gift in their honor," said Blair's Director of Annual Giving Colleen Smarth. "That we far surpassed our goal of 680 gifts in 24 hours is evidence of how deeply our constituents feel about our School's mission and recognition of the fact that it is carried out by every member of our community."
Throughout the day on April 5, Blair advancement staffers ensured the mood on campus was a celebratory one, encouraging community members to wear their best Blair apparel, surprising students with a midday snack and treating the entire community to an all-school picnic dinner. Some of the advancement office's student ambassadors (Savannah Doelfel '18, Ethan Huang '20, Summer Will '19, Sarika Pyreddy '19, Emma Mohlmann '18, Matthew Bottone '19, Jake Leddy '19 and Linda Tong '19) also led Chapel for the first time, during which they shared alumni stories, recognized some of the School's most dedicated volunteers and encouraged their peers to give back to the institution that has given them so much.
The extended Blair family also came together on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, sharing enthusiastic reports from locations all over the world: "I support Blair. #DayofGiving2018."
The student ambassadors who graced the stage in Armstrong-Hipkins' DuBois Theatre captured the spirit and purpose of the day best: "Generosity is important and affects people around us in ways we don't realize. In its 170-year history, Blair has been home to students of all walks of life. All share one thing: the pivotal difference Blair made in their lives." For many, the Blair experience was, and continues to be, possible thanks to the gifts of others.