CEHD Director Expresses UND Pride for Giving Hearts Day

Ashley Stocker of the UND Alumni Association and Foundation takes to the airwaves to stress the importance of giving back & helping students

Celebrate Giving Hearts Day by Supporting UND Students at undalumni.org/ghd

Ashley Stocker. Source: My Grand Cities

Realtors Kim Efta and Courtney Barstad Logan of RE/MAX Grand are seated together on the last day of January. At this moment, they are not showing houses or working on paperwork. Instead, they are in a recording studio streaming Put a Fork In It!, a local podcast from My Grand Cities.

Joining Efta and Logan in the studio is guest Ashley Stocker of the University of North Dakota’s Alumni Association and Foundation. Stocker serves as the Director of Development for the College of Education and Human Development. In short, she raises money for a good cause – education.

Today, her focus is encouraging people to donate as part of Giving Hearts Day, one of the biggest fundraising efforts in the region. Launched 15 years ago in 2008, Giving Hearts Day is a 24-hour event benefiting charities and good causes in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. According to the Giving Hearts Day official website, this annual event has raised over $138 million for deserving causes.

Stocker is a proud UND alumna and dedicated supporter of Giving Hearts Day. She discloses to the others that her one-day fundraising goal for Giving Hearts Day is one million dollars. This elicits a “wow” from one of the cohosts. However, Stocker stresses that every gift is important. “I don’t want people to feel like their gift is too big or too small,” she says. “Sometimes people think, ‘Oh, my 25 bucks doesn’t make a difference.’ Well, it it really does.” She gives an example from last fall of a student who was about $1000 short in paying her tuition in her last semester of college, and how they were able to find funds for her thanks to the generosity of donors.

As the interview continues, the group discusses why there is a teacher shortage and the efforts of CEHD’s Office of Teacher Recruitment and Retention (OTRR) to combat that shortage. Stocker mentions how CEHD and Dean Cindy Juntunen are passionate about breaking down barriers in support of students. The theme of this engaging and fun discussion is clear, which is the need to give and help UND students and others who need it.

Although Giving Hearts Day is Thursday, February 9, donations may be scheduled in advance. To donate to the UND Alumni Association & Foundation’s Giving Hearts Day efforts, visit undalumni.org/ghd. To earmark donations for CEHD, click the “Designate my donation for” dropdown.

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