The Harrington School of Communication and Media raised $18,000 from the University of Rhode Island’s Day of Giving, which will go towards funding scholarships, equipment and networking events for students.
Ammina Kothari, the new director of the Harrington School, said that much of the money raised will go towards new film and recording equipment, new editing software and other tools for Harrington students.
In honor of the Day of Giving, Kothari said that Dick and Jean Harrington, whom the Harrington School was named after in 2009, committed to matching every dollar donated to the Harrington School with two dollars of their own up to $100,000.
“The Harringtons are very generous donors, and we are very thankful for their help this year,” Kothari said.
The school will continue its fundraising efforts until June 2022 to raise as much money as possible to give supporters who were unable to donate during the Day of Giving more time, Kothari said.
Most of the money raised during the day was from alumni and professionals looking to provide the necessary tools students need to enter their fields, according to Kothari. She said that “speaks volumes” to the impact that Harrington programs have on their students.
“The Harrington School is relatively new to URI, with this year only being its 13th year established on campus,” she said. “Because of that, a lot of the alumni donate to their specific departments that they graduated from, for scholarships and other resources for students in their given field.”
A large portion of the donations from the Day of Giving will go towards funding scholarships for Harrington students with specific needs, such as students with a deceased parent or students who are looking to pursue concentrated fields, she said.
Kothai said that some of the funds raised from the day will also go towards setting up networking events, paying speakers coming to the Harrington School, such as the annual Amanpour Lecture and other resources beneficial to students looking to hear from professionals.
The Day of Giving raised money for more than just the Harrington School though. According to Jennifer Demeter, the associate director of RhodyNow, a program that gives immediate financial relief to students, the University raised over $1.4 million from 2,900 donors this year.
She said that this is almost double the funds raised from last year’s Day of Giving.
“These funds go towards all aspects of URI, from different academic schools to sports teams to religious organizations to other extracurriculars,” Demeter said.
Demeter credits the success of the 2021 Day of Giving to URI’s “amazing” alumni and the fact that there are only 24 hours to donate, which gives an extra “push” for donors to act. Additionally, she said that the large number of people donating also inspires others to give as well.
Kothari and Demeter both said that they are looking forward to using the money raised during the Day of Giving to benefit URI students as a whole.