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News & Updates
Talk about success
Some Bradley students love talking on the phone so much, they make it their job. They spend their time calling Bradley alumni, chatting with them on the phone, and listening to memories and stories from their days at the University.
The Bradley Fund callers are a team of students who call alumni, updating them with campus news and ways that they can contribute to the University. So, the job isn’t all fun and games, but the students working with the Fund still seem to enjoy what they do. More importantly, what these students do is essential in receiving alumni gifts.
“The Bradley Fund is vital to the institution,” says Shelly Smith MA ’93, senior director of the program. “The unrestricted gifts allow Bradley to use the money where it is needed most. It’s the best kind of money to have for a University,” she explained. “It helps pay salaries, it helps build buildings, it helps fund scholarships, it purchases library books; it does all of that,” said Smith.
Dereck Hartmann ’09 explains how the program is so successful, “It is so important to call rather than just send something in the mail. They can get feedback on what has changed and talk about memories they recall from their years at Bradley.”
Although Hartmann concedes the difficulty of getting people to open up, he’s no stranger to long phone calls. His longest lasted 109 minutes and 16 seconds. While a donation did not result from the call, Hartmann remembers it as one of his most memorable calls for stories shared by the alum. “The main reason for the call is to get financial support for Bradley, but that’s only one reason. It’s also neat for the students to experience what alumni have to offer.”
Smith says, “The connections our student callers make with alumni are so important. We are often their only ‘live’ link with campus after they graduate.” She also says that the alumni appreciate the campus updates and that they are being given the opportunity to support their alma mater.
Donations, small and large, are the reason Bradley has been able to make the progress it has throughout its history, including the very recent addition of the Markin Family Student Recreation Center. During the dedication ceremony of the Markin Center, David Markin ’53 said, “More than 20 years ago, I received a telephone call from a Bradley student from the Development office, asking me if I would donate $100 to Bradley. Many years and many telephone calls have passed, and here we are today, a happy day for all of us.” All thanks to that first phone call from a student from the Bradley Fund.