The Somerville College Telethon has raised over £110,000, over the weekend, which is a fantastic achievement at the halfway point of the campaign.
“This year’s Telethon is off to a great start,” said Heather Weightman, Somerville’s Annual Fund and Alumni Relations Officer. “It’s wonderful to hear so many students having fantastic conversations with alumni from around the world. So many Somervillians and friends of the College have spoken warmly of Somerville and of how much they enjoy hearing about our new developments and the important work of the Annual Fund.”
The Telethon is an annual campaign providing an opportunity for current students to speak with alumni and raise funds for the College Annual Fund. This fund supports the running costs of the college including student bursaries, preservation and improvement of the college’s buildings, and supporting the tutorial system.
Telethon caller Grace Young (DPhil Ocean research, 2014) wrote of the campaign “I’ve been involved in fundraising efforts for past projects and wanted to be part of Somerville’s. I feel especially close to this campaign because without my scholarship from Somerville (sharing funding of my DPhil with the Marshall Scholarship program), I may not be able to pursue the research I’m doing now.”
Some of the 2015 Telethon callers
This year, alumni and parents can see profiles of the 16 student callers on the Somerville Telethon Page. Each caller has a profile that will be regularly updated and features a short interview. The 2015 callers include JCR President, Louis Mercier, (PPE, 2014) and former JCR President, Rachel Dickinson (Modern Languages, 2012).
One of the draws of being a Telethon caller is the opportunity to speak with alumni and get inspired about different career options. Student caller Peter Johnstone (Spanish and Arabic, 2012) commented, “I am most looking forward to having the opportunity to speak to alumni who have studied either Spanish or, particularly, Arabic and finding out what they have done since leaving Somerville and whether or not they were able to keep up their languages in their careers.”
The 2015 Somerville Telethon finishes next Sunday on the 4th of October. Keep up to date with their progress here.