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Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s student alumni association, the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassadors, are on a winning streak—for the group and for Â鶹ÊÓƵ students facing food insecurity.

In conjunction with Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Giving Tuesday/Month of Giving initiative, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassadors donated $800 from the group’s Homecoming parade first-place float prize to the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Food Pantry and Help Center.

From left: Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassador Katherine Lagunas Sanchez, a sophomore ecology, conservation, and evolutionary biology major from Kennett Square; Â鶹ÊÓƵ Executive Director of Student Inclusion Roger Briscoe Jr., Â鶹ÊÓƵ Division of Student Affairs; Â鶹ÊÓƵ Dean of Students Adam Jones, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Division of Student Affairs; Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassador Evan Williams, a sophomore exercise science major from McMurray.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ opened the Food Pantry in 2019; it expanded to the current Food Pantry and Help Center in 2021 and offers food items, toiletries, and school supplies for students. Alumni, friends, and students, including a number of student groups, continue to support the Food Pantry and Help Center with both monetary donations and supplies.

The Food Pantry and Help Center is located in  and is coordinated by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. More than 7,800 students have received support from the Food Pantry and Help Center since its opening.

The , founded by the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Alumni Association Board of Directors, celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in fall 2023. The group won first prize in the Homecoming parade float contest in 2023 and began the tradition of donating its prize winnings to the Food Pantry and Help Center.

The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassadors is a link between prospective students, current students, administrators, faculty members, alumni, and friends of Â鶹ÊÓƵ. It works to engage alumni and current students with campus life and makes students more aware of their potential roles as alumni and focuses on the importance of “giving back” to Â鶹ÊÓƵ.

The group provides service to the university at a number of events throughout the year. Throughout the organization’s history, it has raised more than $150,000 for the university through a number of fundraisers, providing support to the construction of the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex and Jane E. Leonard Hall, and to the Allegheny Arboretum and the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Libraries.

The group also established the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassadors Endowed Scholarship and has raised funds for book scholarships for students. Its Tuition Raffle program fundraiser resulted in more than 20 semesters of free tuition to students and more than $5,000 in book scholarships.

In addition to providing support for university events and its success with fundraising, the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassadors have made calls to more than 20,000 prospective students and led hundreds of tours for incoming freshmen in collaboration with the Office of Admissions. The group has also been active in donor appreciation events and has organized “Conversations with Alumni Speaker Series,” which invites successful alumni back to campus to speak to classes and student groups.

The Ambassadors cosponsor the Young Alumni Achievement Awards program with the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Alumni Association, to recognize one graduate from each academic college who has had great success in their career within 15 years of receiving their degree from Â鶹ÊÓƵ. This event brings recognition to Â鶹ÊÓƵ, and also provides networking opportunities for the Ambassadors and other current students. The organization has received more than 30 awards for excellence from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, including a number of international awards.

Students must apply for membership and go through an interview process to be selected for the group, which includes 33 members.

“Our Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassadors are not just leaders; they are also dedicated to making a positive impact on our campus,” Kamden Boyle, a graduate assistant in the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Office of Alumni and Friends and graduate student advisor to the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassadors, said. Boyle, a May 2024 graduate of Â鶹ÊÓƵ from Ligonier, is in the master’s program in public affairs at Â鶹ÊÓƵ.

“By donating these funds, they have chosen to support the incredible work that the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Food Pantry does in serving our students in need. This is just one of the many ways our Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassadors are giving back to those around them. We are proud of their commitment to service, and we hope this donation will help continue the Food Pantry’s important mission,” Boyle said.

“Part of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassadors’ mission is to demonstrate the positive impact of philanthropic support at Â鶹ÊÓƵ,” Â鶹ÊÓƵ Associate Director of Young Alumni and Student Engagement Karen Cramer said. “This gift not only emphasizes their commitment to that goal, but also helps to promote the needs of our students to encourage others to give as well.”

The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassadors made the donation in conjunction with Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Giving Tuesday/Month of Giving initiative. The Food Pantry and Help Center was one of the highlighted projects for the program, and donors gifted $3,230 for the project this year. Since Â鶹ÊÓƵ began its Giving Tuesday program in 2017, more than $225,000 has been donated by students, employees, alumni, and friends to support Â鶹ÊÓƵ during the university’s Giving Tuesday initiative.