It’s #GivingTuesday—the day dedicated to giving back. After Thanksgiving and the the three different deal days that follow (Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday), #GivingTuesday helps to close the loop. I particularly love #GivingTuesday, because as part of my job here at Gonzaga, I get to connect with the GU community both to encourage support and show gratitude for those who do. #GivingTuesday just turns my job “up to eleven,” so to speak.
I’m a bit of a “collector” of knowledge, so during my typical lunch hour, I’ve chosen to take undergraduate classes for fun. I earned my degree from a state institution, so taking courses from Gonzaga’s core curriculum has been a wonderful and new experience. This term, I’m enrolled in RELI 120 (New Testament).
I’d spent the bulk of my morning posting “thank you” tweets for those who chose to support Gonzaga for #GivingTuesday, and expected an average lecture and discussion from today’s class. To my delight, things took an interesting and apropos turn.
As the discussion of the book of Revelation progressed, the concept of “core values” came up, which led to the question, “what do you think are the perceived core values here at Gonzaga?” As if it had been scripted just for today, a classmate said,
“Giving.”
Discussion continued, about how even the act of holding a door for one another on campus demonstrates Gonzaga’s core values of giving, community, friendliness, and commitment. These values define our community, create solidarity and provide the motivation to do what we do here every day.
After that, every “thank you” tweet I wrote seemed to have just a little more meaning; I felt like Ebeneezer Scrooge on Christmas morning, with a new found perspective about giving and GU:
Zags give because giving makes us Zags.
Thank you to everyone who gave in any way on #GivingTuesday. No matter how or what you did in service of others, any act of giving helps to strengthen the foundation on which Gonzaga stands. I am so grateful to work and study here.
With ZaGratitude,
Holly Jones
Development Communications Specialist, University Advancement