‘Stand Up and Holler:’ Community to support LU students on Red Day

The community is encouraged to “Stand Up and Holler” — the theme for LU’s 2nd annual Red Day — a day of giving to colleges and programs at Lamar University.

According to Lauren Wilson, development coordinator with University Advancement, Red Day is an annual 24-hour giving campaign which aims to inspire Cardinals to come together, show their LU pride and provide essential funding to support current and future students.

Held on Sept. 15 and Sept. 16 from noon to noon, the university will periodically go live from the Red Day Command Center on LU’s social media to provide Red Day updates, welcome special guests and to spotlight each college and area with interviews, challenges and exclusive content from across campus.

Throughout Red Day, there also will be dedicated segments for each academic college and LU athletics to showcase their area and what Red Day means to them. 

“This special event shines a spotlight on giving at LU and creates a sense of energy, community and pride around philanthropy,” Wilson said.

This year, the style and theme of Red Day is “Stand Up and Holler,” reflecting pride, school spirit and the unifying energy of a pep rally as LU encourages Cardinals and friends to stand up in support of Lamar University.

Wilson said that anyone may donate — alumni, parents, employees, students and friends are encouraged to support the university on Red Day.

“A gift of any size will make a difference in supporting our students,” she noted.

Supporters are encouraged to give to the area on campus that means the most to them — a favorite academic college, LU athletics or perhaps to other crucial funds such as the LU Forever Fund, which supports the university’s greatest needs.

“Wherever donors choose to give their support, they will be directly making a difference in the lives of our students,” Wilson said. “Not only does each gift directly benefit students at Lamar University, on Red Day, each donation goes even further by helping LU achieve challenges that unlock major gifts to the college or area of the donor’s choosing.”

Additionally, she said, first, second and third place prizes will be awarded to the top three academic colleges with the most donors (proportional to their number of alumni), meaning that gifts to your chosen college could help bring even more support to their students and programs.

Last year, Lamar University raised $124,279 with 477 total donors around the world, Wilson added. This year, LU aims to make that impact even greater, with a goal of reaching 500 total donors.

Live updates will be featured on the Red Day website to show the progress toward the goal, donor messages and social media posts tagged #LURedDay, a heatmap of where donations are coming from around the country and the leaderboard as colleges compete for the Red Day Top 3.

The schedule is as follows:

September 15:
12 p.m. – Opening/Welcome
12:30 – 2:30 p.m. – College of Fine Arts and Communication
2:30 – 4:30 p.m. – College of Business
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. – Athletics
5:30 – 7:30 p.m. – College of Education and Human Development
7:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. – Close of Day Remarks/Updates
8 p.m. – 7 a.m. – Off Hours (Online Giving Still Open!)

September 16:
7 a.m. – Morning Welcome/Updates
8 – 10 a.m. – College of Engineering
10 a.m. – 12 p.m. – College of Arts and Sciences
12 p.m. – Closing Remarks

“At Lamar University, our students and alumni are doing amazing things, not only on our campus, but around the world thanks to the opportunities made possible with the help of our generous donors,” Wilson said. “Red Day gives us a special opportunity for our community to see the incredible impact that giving has on our university as well as the chance to come together to celebrate and support our Cardinals with the tools they need to succeed.”

Individuals are also encouraged to sign up to become a Red Day Champion to help spread the word through various methods of communication before and during Red Day, make a gift in support of the areas of Lamar University they love most and encourage their former classmates, family and friends to join in giving back.

Any students, faculty or staff who may like to volunteer for Red Day are encouraged to sign up at lamar.edu/reddayvolunteer.

To donate or learn more about this event, visit the Red Day website.