A spirit of giving

The spirit of giving and a generous, caring community are at the heart of the USI family. Students, faculty, staff and retirees have a long history of contributing time and money, and spreading cheer to others. Gift exchanges with co-workers, University holiday luncheons, community outreach and opening their doors to students who are far from home for the holidays, are all ways the USI family show they care. While the contributions across campus are too numerous to mention all, here is a sampling of the acts of kindness intrinsic to our University and those who carry on the long standing tradition of giving, both during the holiday season and year round.

USI Foundation

USI Foundation, through its many benevolent donors, raised $2.1 million for scholarships to 1,623 students in the 2014-2015 fiscal year. USI employees and retirees contributed nearly $4 million in gifts and pledges for Campaign USI: Elevating Excellence. These donations provide funds for student scholarships, but also beautify the campus with works of art, as well as cutting-edge labs, facilities that help our University flourish and remain competitive in its many academic programs.

Administrative Assistants and Associates Organization

The Administrative Assistants and Associates Organization (AA&A), the longest standing employee organization on campus, also raised scholarship funds. Through its online silent auction, AA&A provided three $750 scholarships for deserving students.

Staff Council's Giving Tree

Each year Staff Council's Employee Relations committee distributes ornaments with needed items for students and employees who need a little extra assistance for the holidays. This year, 20 families were given clothing items, toys for the children, gift cards and food baskets. International students staying on campus during the winter break were also given food baskets.

Women's Soccer Team

The women's soccer team lent a hand to the Boys and Girls Club for their annual Christmas at Target event sponsored by Dunn Hospitality and Husk Signs. Children received a $50 gift card, and the team helped the children (ages 6-10) pick out gifts for their families.

Honors Students

Three Honors students, Shari Bowers, Logan Hartman and Emily Tedder, participated in the Aurora's Midwest Gingerbread House competition. The team created a Harry Potter themed gingerbread house. The event raises money for Aurora, an organization assisting the homeless in finding permanent homes.

Honors students also helped spread holiday cheer to the children at Evansville Psychiatric Children's Center. For clinical reasons, the children cannot have contact with their families, meaning no visits, letters or gifts from family during the holiday season. The Yena Choi, former president of the Honors Student Council found, however, that the children could receive holiday cards from others. A tradition was born and every year, the honors students send handmade cards to  the children. Many children hang the cards on the wall for decoration.

Phi Alpha

Phi Alpha, a national social work society raised money to participate in the Salvation Army's Adopt-a-Family program. The chapter provided food, presents and articles of clothing for a family of three.

Empty Bowls

Alisa (Al Holen), assistant professor of art, joined with members of both the USI community and regional community to create ceramic bowls to sell for the annual Empty Bowls sale. The proceeds of $11,000 were distributed to ECHO Housing, Patchwork Central and the United Caring Services.

Cooking Eagles

Lee Ann Shafer, academic program manager in Outreach and Engagement, rounds up a group of USI employees she calls the "Cooking Eagles." Groups of employees get together at the end of each month to cook a meal for the homeless at United Caring Services. This gives an opportunity to those who may not have the capability to contribute monetarily to give their time and energy to fill a community need.