When Vanderbilt University’s Giving Day kicks off on Wed. April 7, School of Nursing supporters will have three distinct opportunities to increase donations to the school, including one in honor of Professor Tom Christenbery, PhD’04, MSN’87, who died earlier this year and a $5,000 challenge from Dean Linda Norman.
The Tom Christenbery Challenge will unlock a $65,000 gift for the School of Nursing when 350 individuals make donations to the school during the 24-hour Giving Day event. The gift will be given in Christenbery’s honor by Senior Associate Deans Pam Jones, BSN’81, MSN’92, DNP’13, FAAN; Becky Keck, DNP; Mariann Piano, PhD, FAAN, FAHA; Patricia Sengstack, DNP’10, FAAN; and Mavis Schorn, PhD, FACNM, FNAP, FAAN.
A Power Hour gift from Dean Linda D. Norman, DSN, FAAN, will take place between 10-11 a.m. The dean will match gifts pledged during that one-hour time up to $5,000.
A second Power Hour will be from 2-3 p.m. Piano will match all donations pledged that hour up to $2,500.
Vanderbilt’s Giving Day is an annual 24-hour event during which all Vanderbilt alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends are asked to make a gift of any size to the university school or area of their choice.
During Vanderbilt’s most recent Giving Day, 422 donors gave to VUSN, unlocking a $25,000 challenge from Christenbery and fellow alumnus Benjamin Smallheer, PhD’11, MSN’04.
“Tom offered his steadfast generosity of time, talent and treasure to the School of Nursing and its giving society, the Julia Hereford Society,” the deans wrote in establishing the challenge. “This gift allows those of us whose lives he touched to honor the school he loved.”
Gifts designated for any area of the School of Nursing will help VUSN reach its goals. To support VUSN on Giving Day April 7, go to https://givingday.vanderbilt.edu/organizations/school-of-nursing. Gifts of all sizes are needed to unlock these three challenges.
VU has created Giving Day images for individuals to use on their social media accounts. They’re available here.