Bridgewater, Va.- Bridgewater College’s Day of Giving on Thursday, March 3 raised over $200,000 to benefit academic departments, athletics, scholarships and a variety of additional funds in support of past, present and future Bridgewater students.

Making up the most donations and donors, Bridgewater athletics received the most donations, with over $72,000 raised. Men’s soccer received the highest amount of funds, with over $22,000 raised from 22 donors. 

“It’s amazing to see that we raised that much for the Day of Giving,” said senior and soccer player James Yeboah. “It warms my heart to see how much support the program has, and that people are willing to provide enough resources for the players to be successful.”

The Bridgewater Fund and current scholarships were also among the highest donation earners, with $19,351 and $12,140 respectively.

In addition to virtual donations, there was a Day of Giving livestream from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. featuring Bridgewater faculty, staff, students and coaches hosted by Associate Director of Athletic Media Relations Leyton Pullin. 

“I’ve been a part of [the Day of Giving] for the last three times it’s been done, and it’s a lot of fun, especially now as an alum to be able to connect with people all across campus and hear their experiences and what BC means to them,” said Pullin. “It also is very rewarding to see how much people care about Bridgewater and see the donations as they come in. It really shows how much of a tight group the Bridgewater community is and how much people care about this place.”

Like past years, there were a variety of challenges to increase donation engagement and offer additional funds in a friendly, competitive way. 

Among these challenges was the “Athletic Challenge,” where the team with the highest percentage of participation for players donating would receive an additional $2,500. This challenge was supported by matching and challenge donations from Bridgewater alumni.

“It really is all about increasing participation,” said Senior Director of Development Meg Riner. “Students and alumni help us spread the word by reaching out through their social networks. We have many passionate alumni and friends who also get involved by offering challenges throughout the day. In fact, this year, alumni and friends issued over $75,000 in challenge gift support before the day began.”

There were thirteen additional challenges, including the “Farthest Eagle Challenge,” where the person making a donation farthest from the school would receive an additional $1,500 to donate to their chosen school, program or fund. 

The Class of 2023 benefited from $1,914.99 raised from 36 donors. The class of 2023 officers hosted the “23 Minute Challenge” at 12:30 p.m. in the KCC where any senior donor would receive a class picture. 

“The officers were extremely happy with the outcome of the donations for the class of ‘23,” said Vice President of the Class of 2023 and senior Taylor Shifflett. “The donations we received on the Day of Giving will go towards the Scholarship Fund at Bridgewater. We chose this fund to keep encouraging more students to attend Bridgewater at a lower cost.”

In addition to raising money for different Bridgewater causes, the Day of Giving is also a time of community engagement and encouraging student and alumni philanthropy. 

“Bridgewater’s annual Day of Giving is about much more than raising money,” said Riner. “It is an opportunity for us to engage our entire community—alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends—in an exciting way.”