PAWS-thank-you-note_pa-1024x610A massive turnout of grateful students signing “Thank You” cards to donors capped Philanthropy Week, February 23-27, on the WSU Pullman campus.

Members of PAWS (Philanthropy At Washington State), a student-run outreach program created by the WSU Foundation, organized and implemented activities for each day. Fun and engaging activities such as a photo booth contest, community service projects, and a two-day “PAWS-4-Thanks” event in the CUB attracted several hundred students.

Philanthropy Week was designed to demonstrate how private support augments and enhances a WSU education, said marketing major Tangi Brantley, PAWS chair. “At the core, our purpose is to educate students about the importance and impact of private gifts so that inevitably, once we become alumni, we will pay it forward for future Cougs. We want to continue to uphold the tradition of supporting the Cougar Family,” she said.

PAWS-piggy-bank_pa-300x300Later in the week, PAWS committee members gave away crimson piggy banks shaped like a cougar paw. Students were instructed to fill their piggy bank with spare change, then donate the coins to an organization of choice at next year’s Philanthropy Week. This activity will give students the opportunity to make small contributions and pay it forward, Tangi said.

Activities concluded with the PAWS committee engaging students in thanking donors who support WSU’s greatest needs: scholarships, graduate fellowships, academic and research programs, faculty positions, online education, and WSU Extension programs in research, service, and outreach.