The Open University (OU) stages its second annual Giving Day this week and is encouraging people to help transform the lives and rewrite the futures of current and future students.
By making donations over a 36-hour timeframe from 9am on Thursday 7 July to 9pm on Friday 8 July in support of the OU’s Open Futures Fund, you can help potential students access free education through scholarships.
The fundraiser will enable the University to support more disabled veterans to rebuild their lives; give carers the chance to access education; offer refugees a future full of hope and reduce education inequalities for Black students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Already, a group of 20 energetic OU staff members have achieved their goal of walking 1,000 miles in just over a month in a challenge to help unlock a £20,000 donation from an alumni.
The group, known as ‘Futuremakers’, walked or ran the equivalent number of miles between the OU’s offices in Milton Keynes, Cardiff, Dublin, Belfast and Edinburgh – and back to MK.
The Giving Day is an exciting 36 hours where members of the OU family can come together to support the Open Futures Fund and help grow the OU family by making donations. Thanks to the support of generous alumni donors there are many amazing challenges and match funding opportunities that will make donations go even further.
Mark Parsons, Head of Alumni Fundraising, said:
“By joining our 2022 Giving Day, you can make a truly life-changing difference to those who desperately want to change their lives through the power of education.”
Currently, thanks to last year’s generous donations, potential students are already applying for series of student support scholarships, through The Open University for study in 2022/23.
These scholarships are designed to open doors for people, including those who might otherwise not be able to afford to get a degree.
This week’s Giving Day is aiming to raise more money for potential students to apply for scholarships
The Open Futures Fund provides life-changing scholarships, bursaries, and support to disabled veterans, Black students from disadvantaged backgrounds, those seeking refuge and carers, to realise their ambitions and start their study journey. The OU is offering 132 fully funded degree places for the next academic year 2022/23, especially for these groups.
We hope you can be part of this exciting 36 hours. To find out more and donate visit https://openuniversity.givingday.co.uk/
