Power in community

There is strength in numbers — or, to say it the flyer way, power in community.

The University’s 2021 giving day — One Day, One Dayton — harnessed the energy of more than 700 volunteers who helped propel 6,000-plus members of the Flyer family into action to support student success and the campus community. Held this year on April 14, the annual fundraising day features opportunities for Flyers and friends to participate from anywhere.

This year, it included a virtual 5K with runners in 22 states and Puerto Rico. Alumni communities also got in on the fun, with a challenge to see which city could count the highest percentage of alumni as donors; Houston won the community challenge with 6.9%.

Gifts of all sizes added up, with nearly 84% of gifts being less than $250. Participation was encouraged by donors who offered their challenge gifts each time a milestone was achieved. It started with the 1850 Challenge for 1,850 donors, at which time Bill Tweed ’70 and Jan Tweed, and James Spinner ’75 and Pamela Spinner contributed $50,000. John Alberici ’67 and Natalie Alberici gave $50,000 when the number doubled to 3,700 donors. Inspired by these gifts, Fred Tenover ’76 and Lisa Tenover offered a surprise challenge, and their $200,000 gift will establish the Brother Don Geiger, S.M., Memorial Fund for Graduate Students.

The total donated during One Day, One Dayton was more than $2.8 million.

The day also included a UD trivia and an Inspiring Flyers event that featured three Flyers who have risen to heights as alumni. They are B-2 pilot Capt. Sarah Kociuba ’12, NASA flight director Rick Henfling ’06 and Chadwick Barklay ’04, Mars mission scientist with the UD Research Institute.

“The most important aspect of the job today is teamwork,” said Henfling, who was preparing to direct the SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station. “We work with teams of varying disciplines and technical expertise, so the sense of community I learned at Dayton really helped prepare me the most to work with multidisciplinary teams to achieve a common goal. For that, I’m most thankful for my education at Dayton.”

A common goal powered by community and opportunity: It’s an unstoppable combination any day of the year.