BROOKINGS This years One Day for State campaign was successful, with the 24-hour effort on Sept. 4 bringing in $3,027,013 in donations from 5,855 donors.
Both surpassed the South Dakota State University Foundations goal of 5,000 donors this year, and last years donations of $2,757,790 from 6,068 donors.
Its a success worth celebrating, and thats exactly what happened at the Yellow and Blue Block Party the evening of Sept. 4, when encouraging news was already percolating through a crowd that was hundreds strong in spite of chilly, windy weather, but the final totals were yet to be achieved.
We just like to come. Its a fun night and its usually nice outside. It gets the kids involved the kids enjoy it, and they love to see Jack, Brookings resident Heather Weber said. The kids were just inside playing golf with the girls on the golf team and then play basketball with the boys on the basketball team, too.
Its just a fun night and the whole family can get together, she continued. Its also a really great way to support SDSU and the athletes here. They all do such an amazing job and its just a fun community event.
That it certainly is, and it showed in the fundraising totals, too, with Jackrabbit Athletics share standing at $804,581 and 3,253 donors.
It wasnt just athletes at the block party, either: People of all ages mingled with Pride of the Dakotas Marching Band members, along with members of the SDSU cheerleading and dance teams. Faculty, students and other community members were taking part in the activities including a big version of Jenga, chalking, sitting in the Bummobile, dancing with Jack the Jackrabbit and more while enjoying SDSU ice cream and other goodies from several food truck vendors.
The food and we have kids, and we thought maybe Jack would be here, Brookings resident Sarah Caldwell said of why her family was at the block party. We were told there was going to be a bouncy house, but no bouncy house.
Mother Natures windy conditions nixed that option. We didnt want our kids blown away, so thats good, Caldwell said, laughing.
Third-year student Dhe Yeong Tchalla of Togo missed last years block party but made up for that absence this year.
I missed last years opportunity, so I heard it was fun, he said. So, my friends told me to come and enjoy it, come and see whats happening here, to have a good memory.
The aforementioned faculty were also making their rounds.
I love to come out every year and just see the excitement and everyone really celebrating SDSU, Amber Letcher of Brookings said. A 13-year member of the faculty, shes a professor and SDSU Extension 4-H youth development specialist.
Also at the party was Bridget Ortlieb, whose husband Evan Ortlieb is the dean of the College of Education & Human Sciences.
SDSU is an awesome amenity to the community, and they provide so much life and entertainment and fun to the area, Bridget Ortlieb said. We really want to support the teams, the students, the community its just a wonderful endeavor.
Were proud to be here. We love SDSU. Go Jackrabbits!
She said her daughter went to kindergarten at Fishback Early Childhood Center, and that her other two children are currently in preschool there.
We love the students. We love the faculty and the teachers. Its a wonderful setup with the students and the teacher ratio and all the hands-on exploration they do while theyre in school, Bridget Ortlieb said. Everyone has just been so welcoming to us since we moved here a year and a half ago. Theyve really embraced us and our family, and we just love the community so much.
Assistant professor Kris Osterloh was also enjoying the block party.
Ive been here a few years, so I know its a good time and a good place to just see people its good energy here, he said. I bring my dogs and my wife, and we come down and meet friends we know.
Meeting friends, partaking of good food and fun activities, and donating as part of the One Day for State campaign. The Yellow and Blue Block Party did all of that, and it showed in its three-hour span.
In closing, other success stories from this years campaign included:
- $218,308 raised for the College of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences from 382 donors.
- $177,738 raised for the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences from 304 donors.
- $176,374 raised for the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering from 288 donors.
- $170,986 raised for the College of Education & Human Sciences from 218 donors.
More details can be found at https://www.sdstatefoundation.org/odfs.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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