S T MARY ’S | FRIENDS MAG AZINE
Support St Mary’s So much of what makes Mary's such a wonderful place would be impossible if it were not for the generous gifts we receive each year from our friends and alumni. By enriching Mary's your endowment will support outstanding students and faculty for years to come. From support of Sports and the Arts to essential hardship funds for students in need Friendship Gifts are vitally important to every aspect of life at Mary's In recent years our Development Fund, supported entirely by Friend’s Donations, has financed a wide range of applications. These have included a large grant for gym equipment, a new drum kit, choir stalls, a modern PA system, plasma TV’s for the JCR and MCR, a new flotilla of boats for the boat club, kit for newly established sports teams, grants to support choir visits, equipment for the Arts Society and development of the new eco garden. Friendship funds also support our travel bursaries, the visiting women’s fellowship, choral scholarships and the book fund. Nothing is more valuable to students in need than the small amount of financial help college is able to offer each year. Without the targeted awards we give, students would find it very difficult to continue at the University and could
be forced to withdraw from their studies. One student (2012) , from a modest background, and the first from her family to go to University, told us that the £200 we provided towards her living costs at a time of crisis had been a ‘lifeline when I was about to go under’. Finally, Last year we were delighted to see considerable interest in the St Mary’s College Visiting Women’s Fellowship and we hosted our first Fellow , Dr Monica Singhania from the University of Delhi in Michaelmas Term. During her visit Monica was a great presence in College, delivering a lecture on the Global Financial Crisis. We are looking forward to welcoming two annual Visiting Women’s Fellows in the forthcoming year, Dr Ikram El-Sherif, Assistant Professor in English at the Gulf University for Science and Technology in Egypt and Ms Aytakin Huseynli from Azerbaijan State Economic University’s Social Policy and Social Work Programme, both of whom are working to extend women’s rights in their countries.
Please do consider giving to St. Mary's in some small way and know no matter what size your gift will always be appreciated.
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