Birds Give Back: Not All about the Money

Photo courtesy at ISU

NORMAL, Ill.- Illinois State University will host its third annual ‘Birds Give Back’ tomorrow, Feb. 25. 

The campus-wide day of philanthropy encourages alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, friends and community members to financially support their areas of interest at ISU. 

New this year, individuals are encouraged to send a “Heart for Hope” note of encouragement to current students. Senior Director Jillian Nelson says this year in particular encouragement is much needed.  

“I would say the big difference is the way that we approached it this year, we felt it was really important to look at the day as more than just about gifts,” said Nelson. “You know it has been a hard year for our students and for our Redbirds, so we added a couple of program pieces that we felt were really called for this year.”

Nelson says that they are shooting for a goal of over 1,000 notes of encouragement. Nelson says this is a way for people who were financially impacted by the pandemic to be a part of ‘Birds Give Back.’

Nelson says there will be a Zoom called “What’s it like to be a Redbird these Days,” and the goal of this Zoom is to share experiences of college life during a global pandemic. 

Five student panelists will be in attendance. The Zoom starts at 7 p.m.

“Some things we haven’t done before in the past that we just felt were kind of an opportunity to make ‘Birds Give Back’ about giving but also about encouraging and celebrating all things Redbird,” said Nelson.

If they can get 50 people in attendance to the Zoom, $500 will be tacked onto the giving proceeds.