Giving Day 2023

Good question – essentially it's a campaign to celebrate what's great and unique about Wadham and its community...and a wonderful opportunity to fundraise for student support and our widening access programme.

We are organising Wadham’s 4th Giving Day, which will be a 36-hour campaign held over 17-18 May. Giving Days are opportunities to celebrate everything wonderful, cool and fun at – and about – Wadham. They are also key opportunities to raise funds for student support and our widening access work. For our 2022 Giving Day, 311 people – mainly alumni but also staff, Fellows and students – donated £172K; in addition the entire Wadham community came together through a variety of activities to mark the campaign, culminating in the human chain around Front Quad.

It's a digital campaign that utilises emails, a donation platform and social media to generate awareness and support around the global community but, like last year, there will be in-person activities in and around College to help promote the campaign and celebrate what's best about Wadham.

Giving Days celebrate what makes Wadham great and unique, but they are essentially fundraising campaigns, organised to help fund Wadham's pioneering widening access work and to help ensure that students facing financial hardship have the support they need to continue their academic studies.

You can help make them a success by getting involved in the various activities being organised. You can help spread awareness via social media using #WadhamProud2023. You can pitch your own ideas for Giving Day activities. Feel free to email (details below) with any thoughts or questions relating to this.

We are devising a range of activities with your input that will help us engage with counterparts in College as well as with alumni around the world. See the list below for some ideas already on the table.

Whatever activity you get involved in, share it on social media and use the hashtags #WadhamProud2023 and #WadhamGivingDay2023.

Students, academic and non-academic staff and alumni are able to help generate activities around the Giving Day that show the community in wonderful ways. Here are some the ideas that are being put forward for this Giving Day:

• Notable alumni-student in-person and Zoom Q&As – a chance to speak to alumni who've gone on to pursue some incredible careers. This year we have Simon Milner (History & Economics, 1985), Lucy Lake (Human Sciences, 1991), Emma Graham-Harrison (Oriental Studies, 1997) and Laura Janes (Classics, 1996)
• A pub quiz between students and tutors (10 May, The Chequers) – this was hugely successful and great fun last year
• 'Wadhlove' Giving Day tattoos, in time for Wadstock and other events – photos bearing these will really help spread the word and spirit
• Merifield look to defeat DWB in a football match after last year's defeat – scheduled for 13 May
• DWB bake-off with Chef Neil Mahon judging the winning, Dorothy Wadham-themed cookies – 17 May
• a Freshers vs 2nd year rounders competition, possibly with a staff team taking them on too
• something to mark that inimitable Wadham tradition (well, since the late '80s), 'Mandelaing'!

Please email me william.parry@wadham.ox.ac.uk to get involved or if you have any ideas for activities questions about how you can get involved.

Thank you!