The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) Alumni Affairs Call Center is set to have its third annual multi-lingual, campus-based fundraising calling program. Alumni and friends will be asked to show their support to the University’s tele-fundraising drive to support academic scholarships for students in need. The Center will begin its philanthropic efforts on Monday, March 12, and will run through Friday, July 31. The Center will then resume on Sept. 1, and run through Sept. 30.
This year the UVI Alumni Affairs Call Center introduces the UVI Alumni Birthday Club, which is geared toward strengthening the bond between alumni and the University. Alumni who enroll in the birthday club will receive an electronic birthday card on their special day and be automatically entered in the monthly promotional drawing. Prizes include UVI apparel, mugs, pennants and much more. The winners of the birthday gift drawings will be announced within the first week of the following month. Alumni residing outside of the U.S. Virgin Islands will receive their gifts via the US Postal Service. For March’s drawing, a UVI charm bracelet is up for grabs.
Other goals for this year include raising the scholarship value for the UVI Caribbean Alumni Scholarship Funds, the Annual Giving Fund, which includes the President’s Male Initiative-Brothers With A Cause (BWAC) and increasing the alumni participation rate to at least 25 percent.
UVI Caribbean Alumni Scholarship Funds
One of our goals for this year's campaign is to continue to empower alumni in Caribbean nations to directly fund their very own academic scholarships. Established throughout the Caribbean in February 2017, a scholarship fund, allow alumni in nine Caribbean countries to contribute to the fund, that will benefit students from their respective countries.
The countries include:
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Anguilla
- British Virgin Islands
- St. Maarten
- St. Eustatius
- Saba
- Dominica
- St. Lucia
UVI offers the best value for tuition cost amongst universities in the nation but still, the international student tuition proves costly for many of our non-resident students. The tuition and lack of scholarship opportunities for International Students from the Caribbean were the catalysts behind the development of the eight UVI Caribbean Alumni Scholarship Funds.
The UVI Annual Giving Fund
The UVI Annual Giving Fund supports initiatives such as Annual Giving St. Croix and St. Thomas Scholarship, academic programs, and activities.
One of the key beneficiaries of the UVI Annual Giving Fund is BWAC. The goal of BWAC is to recruit and increase the retention rate of male students at the University by providing the necessary tools and support to high academic achievement. The University of the Virgin Islands has awarded over $150,000 in scholarships to young men since the inception of the President’s Male Initiative.
Alumni Participation Rate
In 2017, UVI achieved an alumni participation rate of over 18 percent. This year, the UVI Board set the alumni participation rate goal of 25 percent.
The University celebrated 55 years in 2017, and in commemoration of the anniversary of that, the “55 for 55: The Great Alumni Challenge” was created. The winners of the Great Alumni Challenge traveled to Washington D. C. where they enjoyed a tour of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and sat alongside other honorary guests at the UVI Rise Meet and Greet with President David Hall in February 2018.
For more information, contact Linda Smith, director of Alumni Affairs at lsmith@uvi.edu or 340-692-4023.