Terp Thon’s Day of Miracles Breaks $100,000 Goal For Children’s National
Image courtesy of Bri Gilmartin
Terp Thon’s annual Day of Miracles not only reached their $100,000 goal to donate toward National Children’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Nov. 22, but surpassed it by over $7,000 - all raised by students across campus.
Day of Miracles is one of Terp Thon’s biggest fundraising events of the year. Each November, the student-run organization unites thousands of students to participate in raising money to support pediatric patients. Beginning at noon on Thursday, Nov. 21, and only running for the 24 hours in which the group strives to reach $100,000, Day of Miracles 2019 witnessed another consecutive success.
“Everyone is just so excited and cheering each other on,” said Terp Thon Fundraising Chair Smriti Gupta in the event’s official press release. “We really see the campus come together under our cause.”
This year, most of the event’s activities and physical fundraising were hosted in Stamp Student Union. Students were encouraged to use Venmo and Cashapp along with their personal donation pages to raise money and promised their donors they’d take on certain challenges for different donation amounts.
“It was really fun to see the incentives that everyone set for themselves, like one of my friends has to wax his chest and another has to bite out of an onion,” said Charissa Zhu, a participating family science and psychology double major. The entire event was a bonding experience, she said, and seeing everyone trying to hit their personal goals was encouraging.
“We set up in the Student Involvement Suite in Stamp, and we have our hype room which is full of activities,” said Bri Gilmartin, the Public Relations Chair for Terp Thon. “We also have a gong for every time you get a donation. So even if you’re not participating in the event, you can still see us tabling outside or hear our gong in Stamp.”
The event relied largely on both planners and participants circulating the message of the event and its mission. Participants were encouraged to reach out to their friends and family members and post on social media. Signs and chalk art promoting it were on countless campus sidewalks. University groups such as Dining Services and UMD Libraries were partnered with as well.
“We love them so much,” Gilmartin said about the dining halls and libraries Terp Thon collaborates with. “Also, the Student Organization Resource Center - them letting us use their space is amazing. It’s really cool seeing how the campus really just encourages us to go and make as much of an impact as we can.”
The need for the thorough marketing comes from the event’s aim to involve as many new students as possible - especially since meeting the goal relies on just a day’s worth of donations. To several Day of Miracles planners, getting involved and helping others join the cause is the best part.
“Everyone is just so supportive of each other, especially for people [for whom] it’s their first Day of Miracles,” Gilmartin said. “When you're new, everyone’s just so willing to help out and open to anyone that wants to help make a difference, too.”
Because although $100,000 is such a “big and scary number,” Gilmartin added, “all together we can reach it.”
Brooke Titus, Terp Thon’s Communications Director, said this widespread collaboration and support was what had first drawn her toward joining the effort four years ago.
“My friends [...] were going on and on about Day of Miracles,” Titus said in the press release. “They were so excited about fundraising that day. Their passion inspired me to sign up for Terp Thon, too.”
Now on the executive board powering a planning team of 300 members, Titus remains in awe of the impact Day of Miracles makes.
“Being able to empower our participants and internal team, and seeing the campus rally together for the kids at Children’s National is incredible,” Titus said. “The whole day is dedicated to making miracles and changing the future for the kids.”
