As Homecoming 2023 approaches, I’m pleased to share this newsletter article with you just a few days before the festivities begin. The past three years have brought their fair share of challenges and transformations to our Homecoming experience.
In 2020, we made a swift transition to a completely virtual Homecoming, a situation we hadn't faced before. The following year, Homecoming remained virtual, and in 2022, we celebrated a highly anticipated return to in-person events. These transitions have tested our adaptability, and we've witnessed shifts in event attendance patterns as we navigated through these changes.
We're happy to report that this year, we're expecting attendance levels to exceed those of previous years (including 2019 pre-pandemic levels), and we're on track to achieve record donations through our registration page.
Homecoming is a collaborative effort that involves all our Advancement teams, as well as our partners from campus and the city. It truly takes a collective effort to bring this weekend to life. Your ongoing support has made it possible. I am grateful for your contributions that have brought us to this point. I look forward to Homecoming 2023 and I’m excited to see how the event unfolds.
Thank you for your support, and we hope you enjoy Homecoming 2023.
Homecoming by the numbers [updated Oct. 6]
Homecoming 2023 starts on Friday! We have 2,508 registered guests including 1,836 alumni and 54 reunioning classes. Almost $18,000 has been raised through the registration form. Alumni football ticket sales ended on Oct. 6 and nearly 2,000 tickets were sold.
If you have an alumni or VIP still looking for tickets, please contact Sara Franca or Lauren Broadhurst.
What’s Happening in Regional Strategy:
- In addition to the busy travel schedule of our decanal partners, we will see senior leadership presence in five markets this fall: Montreal, London, Chicago, Calgary, and Toronto.
- We have numerous branch events across our domestic and international markets.
- We have two signature events this fall: Calgary Wine and Cheese and the Toronto Signature Event, both taking place in November.
- We are undertaking several partnerships with faculties and development partners, including Bagels and Bequests: Toronto Edition, the young alumni welcome events, a private donor dinner with Law, a QHS Cinq à Sept Research Talk in Toronto.
- We are engaging alumni in markets such as Colombia and Chile (VP Global Engagement) and Ghana (Dunin-Deshpande ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Innovation Centre) through our partners across campus.
Young Alumni and recent graduates
This autumn, Kim Day and the Young Alumni team initiated a series of events designed to warmly embrace new and recent graduates into our alumni community. What set this initiative apart was the team's innovative approach of inviting these fresh graduates to events held across various regions. Given our limited knowledge of their exact geographical distribution, this strategy effectively kept alumni informed about the full spectrum of events taking place, enabling them to choose the location that suited them best. Attendance levels have been terrific.
- Vancouver – 86 attendees – sold out
- Calgary – 60 attendees – sold out
- Toronto – 125 attendees – sold out with waiting list
- Ottawa – 70 – sold out
- NY Terry Fox Run & Young Alumni Social – 25
Next up: Nov. 8 Gaels of the Last Decade online event with Simon Huck, Artsc’04, Principal Owner of Command Entertainment Group.
Target audience: Young Alumni, third- and fourth- year students (Recent and Recent plus grads) Some nice feedback from Vancouver!
Mile in Their Shoes
We've wrapped up the in-person learning component of the A Mile in Their Shoes program. The day was a tremendous success. Our facilitator, Dan Brant, was an incredible guide to the 30 alumni who attended the in-person day.
Here are a few highlights and learnings from our day:
- We participated in numerous ceremonies that deepened our understanding and connection to Indigenous Peoples living in Six Nations.
- Our facilitator, Dan, asked our alumni to describe their experience in one word. Here is a sample of those words: profound, grounding, grateful, speechless, challenging, frustrating, insightful.
- Tears were shed, but discussions were had on how to move forward engaging and taking action on Reconciliation. The key words here are taking action.
- VP Stephanie Simpson closed the day with profound remarks on how the day impacted her and how she will take her own actions toward Reconciliation in her work at the university.
Employee spotlight
The Employee Spotlight celebrates the arrival of our new and existing staff by profiling responses they share through a fun and informal survey that will help us get to know them better. Be sure to review these profiles and use these fun facts and tidbits to find commonalities, embrace differences, and spark a conversation.
Last week, we welcomed two new members to Advancement:
Erin Bartok in the position of Gift Administrator, Gift Services. and what three things she does outside of work.
Ylber Kusari in the position of Executive Director, Development, Smith School of Business. and what languages he speaks.
The countdown continues.
