Say Thanks Day is an event that gives students the opportunity to acknowledge and say thank you to donors who have given to the Harding community. This year, Say Thanks Day will be held on March 4.
Senior Tin Nguyen is one of many students who has been given the opportunity to attend Harding because of donors and expressed why he is thankful for his opportunity.
“I owe a lot to the donors,” Nguyen said. “I don’t mean I need to give them back the money they gave. I mean that my time at Harding has completely changed my life in so many different ways, so without the donors’ support I wouldn’t have been able to go through that life-changing experience. Their support funded my education, yes. Really it gave me the chance to make my best friends, allowed me to travel the world and it provided me the chance to grow as a person.”
Say Thanks Day began in 2012 and with each passing year has grown more. Many students do not know much about donors and what they do to help our students financially, so the event was created to spread awareness.
This year, Say Thanks Day is encouraging the student body to say thanks via social media. The theme this year is “Tag Your Thanks.” This will encourage students to share their thanks on social media so that all donors can see the impact they have had on students’ lives.
Junior Jake Tansey will be speaking in chapel on Say Thanks Day to encourage students to be more aware of the opportunities given to them by donors and the impact donors have made on the Harding community.
“This is the one day of the year where we can look and see how much these people have done for us and really just have time to appreciate them and their hard work and the gifts they give to students in the form of scholarships and just support and mentorship,” Tansey said. “It started out small and we’re building it up more and more every year.”
There will be a number of activities for students who wish to get involved and participate in Say Thanks Day including several contests, a devotional, and from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. students can eat free doughnuts and write thank you notes to donors. A concert on the front lawn will top off the day, featuring The Coasts, from 7-9 p.m.
