Family Engagement

The Pull & the Tooley Family

The Pull, a unique tug-of-war contest, is one of America’s oldest standing college traditions: on Saturday, Hope College will experience the Pull for the 120th time. Each year, freshman and sophomore teams face each other from each bank of Black River, attempting to claim the rope for themselves.

Each team is comprised of 18 Pullers and 18 Moralers, who direct and support the Pullers for three rigorous hours. Even Year teams stick together while those of Odd Year form their own unity. Every year, the coaches pass down traditions to the current teams, and seniors coach the sophomore team while the junior coach is responsible for the freshmen. After having participated in the Pull as a team member, students have the opportunity to be selected as the next coach by the current ones.

Hope College Pull Rope-Run classes of 2019 and 2020

This year, Allison Tooley ’18 is a coach for the ’20 Pull team after having been a ’18 Moraler for two years. By working with her fellow coaches to prepare the sophomores for this year’s competition, she has become familiar with the traditions and strategies unique to the Even Year teams. Allison has been practicing intensively for the past three weeks and promoting Hope’s significant tradition by dressing in the traditional colors of red and white for the first five weeks of the semester.

Allison learned about the Pull already in her childhood, as her parents participated in the event when they were students at Hope College. Her father, Eric Tooley, was a Puller on the ’87 Pull Team and her mother, Anne Hathaway Tooley, participated as a Morale Girl on the ’88 Pull Team. For both Eric and Anne, the Pull was one of the first events that shaped their experience at Hope College, where a shared purpose and commitment to hard work instantly brought their respective teams together. As the Tooley Family exemplifies, the Pull connects students in marvelous ways and creates meaningful, lifelong friendships.

Hope College – The 2015 Pull event held on both sides of The Black River.

In addition to the Pull, the Tooley Family also upholds the tradition of the college’s Greek Life: Both Allison and her sister, Katelyn, are Sigmas, while Anne is a Delphi and Eric a Frater. In 2015, Katelyn graduated with a dual major in Business and Political Science, and Allison is a senior majoring in Business.

This weekend, the Tooley Family will be cheering for the ’20 Pull Team at the Rope Run on Friday and at the Pull on Saturday. To them, the Pull is an incredibly meaningful tradition, and so much more than a game of tug-of-war.

Homecoming Donut Run 5K | Benefiting Dance Marathon

Hey you. Yes, you. Let’s chat! I want to tell you about something amazing.

My name is Erin Murphy and I am a senior here at Hope College studying Communication and Business. I currently serve as the Marketing Director for Dance Marathon. I’ve been a part of Dance Marathon since my freshman year and have loved every moment of it.

For those of you who may not be incredibly familiar with the program, Dance Marathon is a nationwide network of college students who partner with and fundraise for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Throughout the year, students across the country plan events, partner with restaurants for percentage nights, and personally fundraise to add to their yearlong fundraising total that is shared at the main event: The Marathon itself. Hope’s Dance Marathon culminates in a 24-hour party where students across campus stay awake and on their feet in solidarity with kids who are fighting a variety of horrible illnesses. As a campus, we come together as one generation fighting for the next.

For us here at Hope, our total proceeds go to Helen Devos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. As we enter our 19th year of the program, we have already raised over $2 million for the hospital. We’ve gotten to create some amazing events, meet some beautiful Miracle Kids who have overcome so much, and create an incredible community of Hope students who are passionate about serving the hospital.

Now, are you ready to hear that amazing thing I promised to tell you?

On Saturday, October 14, Hope College Dance Marathon is partnering with the office of Alumni and Family Engagement for the first ever Homecoming Donut Run 5K Benefiting Dance Marathon!!!

Hope students and alumni are likely familiar with a local donut shop located within walking distance from campus. Late night “donut runs” have become a common part of the Hope experience. Essentially, the shop owner allows Hope students to walk in and buy freshly made donuts at all hours of the night. Seriously, sometimes the place is packed at 1 a.m. with donut-munching students. This unique tradition inspired us. So this year, we’re putting a fresh spin on it – making it a real life donut run!

What does this mean? The 5K will still have the awesome long sleeve t-shirt, chip timing, and take you through our beautiful city of Holland. However, it will also feature delicious donuts holes along the route and full donuts at the finish line. We’ll also have some Miracle Kiddos at the starting line, ready to cheer you on and countdown the race! Woohoo, how exciting!

Additionally, all proceeds from this year’s 5K will go towards our year-long fundraising total. This year, we’re setting our goal high at $310,000. I know, it’s a big number, but the joy and wellness of the kids is definitely worth the challenge.

And here comes the most amazing part of all:

You have the opportunity to go on a Donut Run for the kids. You can be a part of this incredible event and support children in the hospital. You can make a difference in the lives of kids who deserve the world. By going for a run through the beautiful city of Holland, you not only get a t-shirt and some delicious donuts, you get to proudly know that you are supporting child life services at HDVCH. Now that’s pretty amazing.

Registration is now live and you can sign up here. The event will start and end at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium on Hope’s campus and the race begins at 9 a.m. The price is $20 for Hope students and Miracle Families and $30 for alumni, faculty, staff, and Holland community members.

We are so excited about this partnership with the Alumni and Family Engagement office and can’t wait for Homecoming weekend to be here! We would love to see you there, supporting kiddos who deserve the world. So bring your friends, family, professors, students, anyone- and we’ll see you on Saturday, October 14!

Thank You!

Many of you participated in Scholarship Day of Giving and we are grateful for your support. Thanks to you, we raised more than $162,000 — all for student scholarships through the Hope Fund. The number of gifts and the total raised both exceeded last year’s day of giving.

On behalf of the Hope College community, and especially our students, thank you for your generosity!

Your support brings Hope’s mission to life for countless accomplished students, making a Hope education accessible for many who might otherwise deem it impossible.

Unlock $25,000 for Scholarships at 700 Donors

Scholarship Day of Giving is now over halfway to our overall goal. We were close to our goal of 500 donors by 5 pm, but came up just short. Help us reach the next goal of 700 gifts and an additional $25,000 will be unlocked and added to today’s total thanks to another generous group of challenge donors.

How can you help?

1) If you haven’t already, make a gift at hope.edu/give2hope.

2) Spread the word on social media and email using #give2hope.

To make your gift by phone, please call 616.395.6006. The students will be in the Outreach Center until 10 p.m. EDT.

Looking for a quick and easy way to help? Forward this update to a group of friends!

125th Donor Thank You

Today’s the day many on Hope’s campus hit the refresh button for hope.edu/give2hope with a strong sense of gratitude. Each new commitment to support Hope students represents a unique donor story, while simultaneously launching new Hope stories for students receiving scholarships.

We are excited to introduce you to the 125th Scholarship Day of Giving donor. CJ Ditzenberger’s Hope story began when her daughter, Grace, was looking for a small Christian liberal arts college with a strong exercise science and volleyball program. Grace is now a sophomore that makes the trip each semester from her home in Centennial, Colorado to study on a pre-med track at Hope College. CJ visits as a Hope parent a few times each year and was motivated to be part of a community of donors on this special day.

“Hope College has provided Grace with amazing research opportunities and great professors. It’s been everything we imagined it would be.” -CJ Ditzenberger

Thank you CJ and all who have contributed to the success of this day so far. We are now at 181 gifts (10:57 AM EDT) toward out goal of 1,000 before midnight. We can do it! To encourage us, a group of generous donors has offered a $10,000 challenge that will be unlocked when we reach 250 gifts. Help us reach our goal by making a gift and spreading the word!

#give2hope

Scholarship Day of Giving Details

Scholarship Day of Giving will kick-off at midnight Monday for a 24 hour challenge of 1,000 gifts. Here’s how you can be involved:

Make a gift at hope.edu/give2hope.
Share #give2hope throughout the day on your social media channels.
Change your Facebook cover photo to the Scholarship Day of Giving image. You’ll want to download the image or save it to your desktop. Go to Facebook. Edit your cover photo. Update your cover photo.

4. Change your profile photo to the Give Hope image. You’ll want to download the image or save it to your desktop. Go to your social media channels and update your profile photo. Facebook will allow you to make this a temporary change and you will automatically transition back to your previous profile photo after Scholarship Day of Giving.

5. Create and post a “Why I love Hope” video using Facebook Live. Get creative! We’d love to hear why you love Hope.

6. Watch the progress throughout the day at hope.edu/give2hope.

Thanks in advance for your support! Go Hope!

Scholarship Day of Giving 2017

Join us for the third annual Scholarship Day of Giving on April 18, 2017. The goal is 1,000 gifts to the Hope Fund in 24 hours. Gifts received online and on the phone will be added to our project at hope.edu/give2hope.

Online ambassadors will become part of our team for the day by helping to promote Hope College, the Hope Fund and student scholarships. We need your voice, your networks and your enthusiasm to help us make the day a success. Please consider helping our efforts this year and sign up to be an ambassador.

Follow our progress throughout the day on April 18 at hope.edu/give2hope and use #give2hope on your social media platforms.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration and active support of our students.

#GivingTuesday

As part of #GivingTuesday, alumni, families and friends gave $68,240 to support Hope College student scholarships.

Thank you for being part of this global event and for helping to make a Hope College education accessible to future students.

For a complete list of donors, check out the donor wall.

Interested in seeing gifts at work through the stories of students, alumni and those that teach them? Check out the Alumni and Family Engagement and Stories of Hope blogs.

#GivingTuesday is a single, global day of giving that brings together individuals from around the world and highlights their capacity to care for and empower others. Today, we are bringing together the Hope College community to support student scholarships through the Hope Fund.

Summer Send Off: Then and Now

Rewind to July of 2014.

As an incoming first-year student at Hope College, I was a ball of nerves and excitement. Being the type of person that needs planning and order, not knowing what was to come when I stepped onto campus in the fall was a rattling concept. Thankfully, Hope College does a picnic called a “Summer Send Off” in four different areas: Naperville, Mid-Michigan, Southeast Michigan, and Southwest Michigan. Since I am from the Lansing area, I went to the picnic held at Patriarche Park in East Lansing in the summer of 2014. About 10 of my high school friends were also coming to Hope, so we all arrived together. Even though I was with the people I felt most comfortable around, I couldn’t help but be nervous. I was moving away from an area that I had lived my entire life, to a town where I had visited only a couple of times. Coming to Hope was more or less a leap of faith for me, as I hadn’t even gone on an official campus visit. From the very beginning of the picnic, I knew that this was where I was supposed to be. The people from Hope College that hosted the picnic were friendly and I didn’t feel completely clueless anymore. I had no idea how to do this whole college thing, considering how I was a first-generation college student, with no real guidance in this adventure. But after the picnic, the countdown was set for August 24, move-in day, and I couldn’t have been more excited.

Fast forward to now: July of 2016.

Packing up the orange and blue Gatorades into the cooler and putting everything into the Hope van, I would soon be on my way to the first Send Off picnic of the summer. Ever since August of 2014 (Yes, two weeks after I stepped onto campus!) I have worked in the Alumni and Family Engagement Office, the very office that hosts the Summer Send Off picnics. I couldn’t help but look back on the time that I was so nervous about a simple picnic. Now, I am greeting the incoming students as they arrive, and making them feel at home before they even come to campus. Hope College has a way of doing that. As I stood under the pavilion, looking at all of the students that were listening to the Orientation Directors, I couldn’t help but look back on the time that I was sitting in their exact place. A feeling of peace and thankfulness washed over me. The leap of faith that I once took in 2014 brought me to a state of joy, contentment and peace in 2016.

If only these freshmen knew what they were in for.

Share Your Hope Experience at Summer Send Offs

Each summer Hope alumni, students and parents meet members of the incoming class and their families at a series of welcome events. You are invited to help welcome the Class of 2020! Connect with Hope alumni, parents and students at a Summer Send Off event near your and share your Hope experience with students just beginning theirs.

Join us for a complimentary dinner hosted by Alumni and Family Engagement. These events happen rain or shine and are complimentary for all. The RSVP deadline is one week prior to each event.

For more information and to RSVP please visit hope.edu/alumni/events or call 616.395.7250.