4/21/21

This past year has been one of hardship, change, and distress for many Fort Hays State University students. However, it has also been a year of resilience, strength, and community. Just as Tiger Nation banded together as a family throughout a year unlike any other, we will come together once again to #SupportTheFort.

A single 24-hour period could change the lives of FHSU students, faculty, and staff for generations to come. On Thursday, April 22, Fort Hays State University alumni and friends from all over the world will come together to #SupportTheFort. Tiger fans can show their pride by supporting the area of Fort Hays State that means the most to them on FHSU’s inaugural Giving Day – a 24-hour fundraising effort.

Offer hope to students through a gift to the Student Emergency Assistance Fund: This fund provides financial support to current FHSU students who are in high-need situations. These are students who would otherwise have to drop out of school due to severe financial strain. Your gift could provide medical co-pays, essential medications, or counseling services. Your gift could provide Internet access needed for a student to complete their studies or provide other necessities for a student who has nowhere else to turn.

Invest in hard-working students from all walks of life with a gift to the General Scholarship Fund: Long after scholarship recipients graduate from college and build a life and career for themselves, they will remember those who invested in their future and will likely choose to pay it forward to a new generation of Tigers. Your gift to FHSU’s general scholarship fund can help make the dream of education come true.

FHSU’s Giving Day will feature more than 40 specific areas of the university that need financial support. There’s truly something for everyone. Adding to the spirit of the day, there will be numerous incentives, matching gift opportunities, and challenges to unlock. For example, those who make a gift of at least $10 will receive a cool FHSU sticker, and those who make a gift of at least $25 will receive a pair of Fort Hays State University socks, as well as a sticker.

Two of the challenges available are made possible by Terry Siek, an FHSU alum and donor. Siek has two passions at Fort Hays State –cheerleading and nursing. Thanks to his support, if 20 individuals make a gift to his cheerleading project as part of FHSU’s Giving Day, Siek will match their support up to $1,000. If 25 individuals make a gift to his nursing project on Giving Day, he will make a $1,000 gift to that area of campus as well.

Siek graduated from FHSU with his undergraduate degree in 1991 and participated on the cheerleading team as a student. “Donors made so much of what we did possible,” he said. “I remember new uniforms, new mats, trips to camp, and trips to nationals that were all made possible because of donors.”

Siek holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing and currently serves as the Chief Nursing Officer at Hays Medical Center. So, it’s no surprise that he is supportive of FHSU’s Department of Nursing. “Many of my classmates received scholarships made possible by donors,” he said. “I have had the great pleasure to interact with donors over the last few years and work toward helping the nursing program continue to grow, to add state-of-the-art equipment, and to build a simulation center.” 

Gifts can be made online by visiting www.FHSUGivingDay.com, by phone, or in person between midnight Thursday, April 22, and 11:59 that night. More details can be found by visiting www.FHSUGivingDay.com as the giving day approaches.

Also available on this website is a marketing toolkit to raise awareness for Giving Day by sharing on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to inspire others to make a gift. The toolkit offers sample text and graphics to help you get started.

“This is a day when all Tigers and friends of Fort Hays State University can think about coming together, think about what’s on their heart, and support the university,” FHSU President Tisa Mason said. “Philanthropy drives and fuels our success. Thank you in advance for making our first Giving Day a huge success!”

For questions, contact the FHSU Foundation at 785-628-5620 or email foundation@fhsu.edu.