March 19, 2002

COLUMBUS --- Decorative, red, white and blue yard signs with the message 'I Support Columbus State University' will soon dot the area as the university continues its annual tradition of thanking the community through CSU Day.

Officially designated as CSU Day by city proclamation, March 28 will be the culmination of a year's worth of work in raising money and planning.

The first wave of signs in this 8-year-old event will start appearing this weekend. The culmination of the sign distribution will be March 28 as more than 100 volunteers from both CSU and the community place the signs in front of businesses and donors who have supported the university.

Much of that support goes to the university's annual fund, which pays for honor scholarships, departmental scholarships, faculty/staff developmental grants, international studies, athletics, alumni activities, health care programs, community outreach and the Science Education Outreach Center.

'This is a day in which we publicly, and visibly, thank our supporters for their annual support of some very important programs here at Columbus State,' said CSU President Frank Brown. 'Without the support of the annual fund, we would not be able to offer such a wide range of educational and enriching experiences for our students and faculty.'

The community's return from the investments in CSU appears in the professional workforce. CSU graduates are teachers in Muscogee County , local nurses , music teachers , law enforcement officers and hundreds of business and community leaders.

To make CSU day possible, a group of dedicated community volunteers has been working for months to raise money for the university. Then another team of CSU staffers takes over, logging the pledges, thanking the donors and then mapping out the best way to deliver 'thank-yous' and yard signs.

On March 28, teams will begin gathering at 6 a.m. to mark CSU Day. Volunteers will meet for breakfast before, or in many cases after, driving around town to deliver the signs.

'It's organized chaos to make sure we can deliver all of our signs, not miss anyone, thank all our volunteers and make sure the community knows what we're doing,' said Annual Fund Director Meri Robinson. 'CSU Day is a culmination of a lot of work for a lot of people. And the ultimate beneficiary is our community.'

 

For more information, contact Meri Robinson at 568-5172 or by e-mail at robinson_meri@ColumbusState.edu.