It’s one of my favorite days of the year, a day when I give back to the community in which I live and reconnect with one I became a part of more than 30 years ago – the Gannon community.
The first GIVE Day was held in Erie in 1997, and since 2009, alumni have been participating in GIVE Day projects around the country. Eleven cities – including Atlanta, New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago and Washington, D.C. – will host GIVE Day events on Sept. 21.
Alumni will pack medical supplies for shipment overseas, participate in the Great Lakes Beach Sweep, sort clothing, refinish furniture, deliver meals to people with life-threatening illnesses and more.
This will be the fifth year alumni in the Harrisburg region have participated in GIVE Day. We’ll be helping distribute food at Project Share, an interfaith cooperative serving 66 organizations.
GIVE Day was the first alumni event I ever attended, and I enjoyed it so much I decided to get more involved with the Harrisburg regional alumni group. One thing led to another, and I’m now on the alumni association’s national board of directors. I get to come to Gannon three times a year and give back to the university that gave so much to me. What could be better!
Because of the camaraderie we’ve built participating in GIVE Day, we now have a core group of active alumni who also get together for social events.
In addition to being a great way to meet fellow alumni, it’s a great way to introduce new people to Gannon. Many of us bring friends and families along to help out. My daughter, who may one day be a Gannon student herself, has been participating in GIVE Day since she was 12.
Gannon is a community that extends well beyond campus and the Erie community. So as you participate in this year’s GIVE Day, know that we’re working alongside you to make a difference in our communities too, and that you will be able to continue this great tradition long after you leave the university.
GREG CZARNECKI
