Canadian author Ann Voskamp once observed,
“Thanksgiving creates abundance.”
How true that is, especially as the Tribe comes together in support of W&M each spring for One Tribe One Day (OTOD), our annual day of giving. We actively watch throughout the day as philanthropic abundance is reflected in giving totals that increase hour-by-hour; in gifts generously given to departments, initiatives, and programs across the university; in contributions that come from alumni, students, faculty, staff, families, and friends of W&M from all across the globe. It is an exciting day that often features giving challenges, good-natured but fierce interdepartmental competitions, on-campus festivities for students, and more.
For me, One Tribe One Day has become a much-anticipated, green-and-gold day of expressing gratitude to W&M, and there is always so much for which I am thankful. I give to W&M out of an abundance of gratitude — for the friends I made singing in the W&M and Canterbury choirs; for my sisters in Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority; for the student affairs career I discovered by serving as an RA and Head Resident; for the husband I met here in 1985 and married in 1988; for faculty who helped me grow as an undergraduate and who later walked with me along the scholarly road to my PhD; for Dean Sadler who was my mentor and then my boss for 18 years; for the faculty, staff, and students who are now educating and enriching the life of my Class of 2024 son; for the institution that has been my professional home since 1991; and for our incredible students who are the reason I do what I do every day. While increasing financial support for W&M is the reason for One Tribe One Day, the overwhelming sense of abundance I experience on OTOD has less to do with money and more to do with my own gratitude for the countless ways W&M changes lives every day, including mine.
Learn more about ways you can get involved here. I hope you will join me in giving – and in giving thanks – to W&M on One Tribe One Day!
Ginger Ambler ’88, PhD ‘06
Vice President for Student Affairs
