Student-alumni members of Rensselaer’s Red and White recently made more than 1,500 phone calls to alumni volunteers to thank them for offering time and contributing services for the benefit of RPI during the six-day Alumni Thank-a-thon. The results of the 2002 Alumni Thank-a-thon were overwhelmingly positive thanks to the efforts of Red and White and the Office of Alumni Relations. Callers collectively made 925 thank you messages to alumni—or a family member in their absence. As a result of the success of the 2002 Alumni Thank-a-thon, Red and White hopes to continue the event in future years in conjunction with the Office of Alumni Relations.
The Thank-a-thon project, a joint effort between the Volunteer Relations Program at Rensselaer and members of Red and White, was created to show appreciation for the volunteer work of RPI alumni. Rensselaer’s alumni volunteers participate in numerous roles to assist Institute advancement, such as admissions enrollment managers, reunion and telethon volunteers, annual fund leaders, advisory board members, mentors, speakers, class correspondents, affinity volunteers, and Rensselaer Alumni Association Board of Trustees’ members.
Although many alumni volunteers are recent graduates, others graduated as long ago as 1933 and still continue to donate their time to the school. Such dedicated volunteer work should not go unrecognized and deserves the appreciation given during the Thank-a-thon.
For most of the callers, the alumni volunteers expressed their gratitude and had overall positive reactions after receiving the phone call.
However, some of the students had to carefully explain that the phone call was simply a thank you call. After a brief explanation, the alumnus felt pleased that students had made an organized effort to personally recognize their volunteer contributions. In fact, many students engaged in lengthy conversations with alumni who reminisced about their college days at RPI. Additionally, the Thank-a-thon was a way for alumni to ask questions of the students and to give comments for the Office of Alumni Relations.
As a Red and White member who participated in the Thank-a-thon, I was happy to receive many positive comments from alumni, such as “Thank you so much for calling— you made my night.” and “I really enjoy volunteering for RPI—it is a rewarding experience.”
By taking an active role in recognizing admirable efforts of Rensselaer’s alumni volunteers, Red and White students showed leadership in connecting alumni with present students, faculty, and staff. Because of the strong effort to thank alumni volunteers for their dedication to their alma mater, Red and White is hopeful that alumni volunteer work will continue in the future.
