Red Day breaks donor record, raises over $200,000

Lamar University's annual Red Day fundraising event demonstrated the unwavering support of its community, raising a total of $232,832 from 510 donors. 

“These gifts have an amazing impact on our university, providing crucial student support, scholarships, equipment and facilities, research opportunities, and much more,” Development Coordinator for Annual Giving Lauren Wilson said.

To celebrate Lamar University’s centennial anniversary, this year’s Red Day was expanded from 24 hours to 1,923 minutes, in honor of LU’s founding year.

“Our amazing Cardinal Nation answered the call to give back to support our students and programs, demonstrating the incredible pride and generosity of our communities,” Wilson said. “As we ‘Rolled Out the Red Carpet for 100 Years’ at LU, our alumni, faculty, staff, students, family, and friends came together to help us meet every challenge and to exceed our goal of 500 donors, resulting in the highest donor turnout that we've ever received on Red Day.”

This year’s event was sponsored by LU alumni Dr. Don Warren (’63) and Ed Gunderson (’78), Howell Furniture and Ashley Furniture, Neches Federal Credit Union, Rao's Bakery, and Cruz Events.

“Their support made a huge difference in promoting Red Day and making each donation go further in creating an impact on our campus,” Wilson said.

Red Day's success reflects the collective dedication of the Lamar University community to furthering the institution's mission of academic excellence. With this year's record-breaking results, the university aims to continue its tradition of offering outstanding educational opportunities to students and contributing to the advancement of knowledge. 

“As we celebrate our centennial anniversary, we would like to thank every person who donated, volunteered, and shared to help make this Red Day a success. Community support makes a world of difference here at Lamar University,” Wilson said.