Welcome to Swarthmore's Day of Caring
Come together to be part of Swarthmore's Day of Caring by making a gift, sending a message of gratitude, or sharing a story. Please read on for a message from President Valerie Smith and learn how this day came to be. #SwarthmoreCares.
Earlier this month, I shared my reflections on the state of our nation with members of the Swarthmore community. The unprecedented convergence of crises we face — public health, economic, racial, and moral — underscores the harsh inequities that pervade our social fabric. As we redouble our efforts to confront systemic racism and xenophobic hatred, while also grappling with the health and economic impact of a global pandemic and a divisive political climate, I am confident that communities like ours will draw on our passion for truth and justice and our compassionate spirits to rise to the challenges we face.
Earlier in the year, we had intended for our annual Day of Giving to support the Swarthmore Fund, which allows the College to meet our most pressing needs as they emerge. In response to the current circumstances, we have shifted our focus to a Day of Caring.
Now is the time for Swarthmore to fully live into our mission of fostering equity and inclusion, promoting social justice, and serving the common good. In that spirit, I have established The President's Fund for Racial Justice. This new fund will support College initiatives focused on transformative racial justice, improving the lives of black and brown people and other communities of color by addressing systemic racism through engaged scholarship, especially, though not exclusively, in local and regional communities.
During the Day of Caring, I encourage you to join fellow alumni, parents, students, faculty, and staff in expressing gratitude and support for our community and the many ways we care for one another by taking one or more of the following actions:
1. Make a gift. Support Swarthmore students and make a gift in honor of a Swarthmore community member for whom you're thankful. I encourage you to give to the area of campus you’re passionate about. I also want to highlight two giving options that directly support our students’ evolving needs:
- The President’s Fund for Racial Justice — Your gifts to the fund during the Day of Caring will help support the Chester Children’s Chorus and Swarthmore Black Alumni Network Internships, as well as other programs focused on transformative racial justice.
- The Swarthmore Fund — The Swarthmore Fund supports all areas of the student experience, from financial aid and mental health support to athletics and academic innovation. It provides flexibility to meet the immediate needs of our students, especially in times of uncertainty like these.
2. Send a message. From fighting for prison reform and racial equality, to keeping our campus clean and safe, to ensuring we deliver on our academic mission amid a global health crisis, our students, faculty, staff, and alumni are working every day to serve the common good and make the world a better place. Take this opportunity to share a note of gratitude with your fellow Swarthmore community members.
3. Share stories. Have you been inspired by a fellow Swattie during these troublesome and uncertain times? Show your support by sharing a story or example of their actions on social media using the #SwarthmoreCares hashtag or use this form to share it directly with us.
If you can, please join us for a powerful demonstration of Swarthmore’s caring community over the next 48 hours. Our collective show of empathy, compassion, and care will make a meaningful difference in the lives of our students and our broader community.
On behalf of students, faculty, and staff, thank you for your incredible show of support, gratitude, and encouragement during our Day of Caring.
Together, we donated more than $400,000, wrote over 60 notes of gratitude, and met the $100,000 Day of Caring Challenge that will endow the President's Fund for Racial Justice!
We deeply appreciate your generosity and look forward to passing along your notes of gratitude and stories of inspiration.
President's Fund for Racial Justice
As part of the Day of Caring, President Smith has established The President's Fund for Racial Justice. This fund will support College initiatives focused on transformative racial justice, improving the lives of black and brown people and other communities of color by addressing systemic racism through engaged scholarship, especially, though not exclusively, in local and regional communities. The first two programs to receive support from this fund will be Swarthmore Black Alumni Network (SBAN) Internships and Chester Children's Chorus. Thanks to the generosity of our community and a $100,000 matching gift from an anonymous alum, this fund has been endowed in perpetuity.
Swarthmore Black Alumni Network (SBAN) Internships
SBAN internships fund student participation in fellowships, internships, and other summer opportunities that support researching Black culture, Black history, criminal justice, urban inequality, environmental justice, access to housing, access to education, cultural equity, social justice initiatives impacting communities of color, and the arts. Meet the 2019 SBAN interns.
Chester Children's Chorus
The Chester Children's Chorus (CCC) serves children and adolescents in Chester, Pennsylvania, one of the most economically disadvantaged cities in the United States. Housed at Swarthmore College, CCC provides music education, after-school enrichment, and a summer learning intensive program for young people residing and attending school in Chester. Watch a video of the chorus performing "I Still Can't Breathe," originally composed by CCC Founder and Artistic Director John Alston following the death of Eric Garner in 2015 and updated following the murder of George Floyd last month. They sing with great anguish and also with great pride. Content warning: This video contains footage of graphic violence that may be upsetting to some viewers.
The Swarthmore Fund
The Swarthmore Fund supports all areas of the student experience, from financial aid and mental health support to athletics and academic innovation. It provides flexibility to meet the immediate needs of our students, especially in times of uncertainty like these.
"One thing I want to tell Swarthmore students right now is to keep asking questions. In tough times, Swatties always ask the tough questions and that is what will help us find solutions and keep us moving forward despite the many unknowns in our current world. I'm Christina Labows, Class of 2018, and I'm giving back because Swat cares."
The Swarthmore values for which we stand, the goals of access, diversity, equity, and inclusion for which we strive, are as vital now as they have ever been. But it is also important to acknowledge that Swarthmore is far from perfect and we have important work to do. We must work to eliminate racial injustice and promote unity within our campus community and beyond. That work includes integrating anti-racist practices and dismantling anti-Black bias into our daily work at the College to live fully into our mission of developing a community with deep social and ethical concern.
Earlier this month we shared some Anti-Racist Community Resources with students, faculty, and staff that other community members may find useful.
In addition, Provost Sarah Willie-LeBreton shared a handful of books that are meaningful to her with the community. Perhaps they will also be for you:
- Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
- White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
- Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
- Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankin
- The Search for Common Ground by Howard Thurman
- Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship: Quakers, African Americans, and the Myth of Racial Justice by Donna McDaniel and Vanessa D. Julye
With thanks,
T. Shá Duncan Smith
Assistant Vice President and Dean of Inclusive Excellence
and Community Development
"Swat cares about us international students, and especially its first-gen students, and that is why I am part of Day of Caring. I'm Youssef Kharrat, Class of 2023, and I support Day of Caring because Swat cares. So, will you join me?"
"As a medical student, I understand firsthand how important it is to give back to your community. I'm grateful every day for my Swarthmore education. Swarthmore cares about educating the next generation of leaders. I hope that you will join me, Sarah Anne Tupchong, Class of 2017, in giving back in whatever way you can today. Thank you."
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