TELEPHONE OUTREACH PROGRAM The next time your phone rings during the evening or weekend, pick it up. You may have a chance to reminisce about a favorite professor at UC San Diego, inspire a student to live life to the fullest, or help transform him or her into a fellow philanthropist. At UC San Diego’s Telephone Outreach Program (TOP), up to 16 students operate the phones daily, year-round, to share their experiences about campus today and to ask alumni and friends for their support. This year, student callers spent 7,190 hours calling 91,153 alumni and raised $408,309 in pledged dollars from 4,886 alumni. Alumni account for 63 percent of the $647,818 dollars pledged from the greater Triton family. The calls, during which the students ask for money for worthy causes such as scholarships and upgraded facilities, have an impact on the callers as well as on those at the other end of the line. Kaylee White, a second-year student majoring in communications, discussed how TOP calls spurred her to take action for philanthropic causes. “Since I began as a caller, I’ve donated to causes I’m passionate about,” Kaylee said. Her favorite charity saves tigers. “I’ve actually gone out and done something as a result of my experience here.” Before becoming a caller, a student trains for up to 12 hours, learning how to make a phone call and operate the computers at the calling stations, reviewing scripts and options for giving, and performing mock calls. The student-callers represent a cross-spectrum of majors and academic backgrounds.
JUST THE FACTS: Number of student-callers on staff:
30 to 45 undergraduates Average length of phone call:
63%
3 to 8 minutes Busiest days:
Monday and Tuesday evenings Number of alumni reached each day:
Alumni account for 63 percent of the $647,818 dollars pledged from the greater Triton family.
200 (average) Number of calls connected with alumni annually:
45,923 Number of donations made daily:
35 to 50 (average)
Annual Report 2013 | 27