Telephone Campaign 2018 - live blog
23 April 2018
Our Campaign is now over, reaching the target of £400,000 and finishing with a grand total of £421,000. Thank you to all of our alumni and parents who contributed not only their donations, but also their time and fantastic anecdotes. I would also like to thank all of our alumni and parents who are still considering donating. Please do not hesitate to email me on annual.fund@cai.cam.ac.uk with any further questions.
A final thank you to all our callers who worked so hard to make this Campaign a success - you were all wonderful!
Marissa Green - Annual Fund Officer
22 April 2018
The last dinner together before our final few hours of calling - stealing some sun.
21 April 2018
It's my third year in a row doing the Telephone Campaign and I have enjoyed every single year. It's such a worthwhile and fun job. I obviously love raising money for Student Support because I know how much of an impact it has on the student community at Caius. It's truly wonderful that the parents and alumni support this.
Sean Jones
16 April 2018 (7.06am)
Our callers are all smiles and croissants (and yawns) for the Australia and New Zealand shift.
15 April 2018
Spoke to a Caian who left the College to become a Shaman - having traveled extensively and been on several spiritual journeys through his life he was such an interesting person to talk to. It just shows the variety of things Caius students go on to do and the diversity of the Caius alumni body.
Tom Nott
14 April 2018
Today I had the greatest conversation I've had so far with a former Caian historian, class of 1959! We chatted about history, philosophy, religion and politics before coming down to Caius and what it means to us as students. I was deeply moved by the story of his 50-year friendship with a fellow Caian and the adventures they had together. This is the kind of experience I was hoping for when I signed up for the campaign - to build friendships across generations.
Deepa Iyer
12 April 2018 (11.18pm)
Our callers are enthused to be doing the US calling shift - coffee and pizza are spurring on the 11pm-2am shift.
11 April 2018
We make sure our callers are well fed before their shift!
I was able to explain more about the Stephen Hawking Fund to a previous CompSci, who was exercised by the project and the legacy it will continue for cosmology at Caius.
Henry Mitson
10 April 2018
It was fun chatting to an alumnus I had a conversation with last year – it was great to hear more about how his business was developing since we last spoke.
Matt Coote
8 April 2018
With day two of calling almost at an end, our students have really enjoyed using their new found skills to help support their College and have some insightful conversations with alumni and parents.
It was interesting, as a medic, to chat to a previous Caius medic about how their time here shaped their future career. They were very complimentary about the teaching of renal physiology at Caius although empathetic about how I have about three spare hours to my name a week! The face above is who you may be lucky enough to talk to if we catch you on the campaign.
Conor Beale
7 April 2018
The first day of calling also marks one of our callers' birthdays - James Darnton is 19 today (which also means cake). All our callers have had lovely chats with some alumni and have enjoyed discussing their dissertations, past Fellows and DoSs in common. We even had someone answer from up a tree!
I really enjoyed training yesterday and learnt loads of new skills. Really looking forward to calling today.
Tom Nott
6 April 2018
And we're off. With the second day of training drawing to a close, the team are having the night off before making their first calls tomorrow morning. They're looking forward to learning more about day to day life at Caius over the past few decades, trading anecdotes about degrees and societies, and discovering what our alumni have been getting up to in the years since their graduation.
6 April 2018
After completing the first day of training in the beautiful, sunny weather yesterday, I’m really looking forward to the second. It was fascinating to learn about the history of Caius, and to hear how important the money from the telephone campaign is for finances of the college. Today we’ll be focussing more on the logistical side of calling - something which is essential for making it possible to have great conversations.
Thomas Wemyss
5 April 2018
Our telephone campaign callers begin their training in the Bateman Auditorium today. As well as learning the ins and outs of the telephone software, the students will hear an overview of the College’s history, including its many myths and legends, from Life Fellow Dr Michael Wood. The afternoon will conclude with a talk from the Senior Bursar, Dr David Secher, who will explain how these campaigns play a vital role in ensuring the College's continued success.
More information on the projects supported by this year’s campaign can be found here. Callers will attend a second day of training tomorrow before the campaign officially begins on Saturday. All Caians receiving a call this year will have received a letter or email from the Master. We hope you enjoy the opportunity to talk to a current student and hear more about College life today.
19 March 2018
I'm pleased to say that all of our alumni who we will be contacting have now been sent their pre-call letter. Please take the time to watch our short film and see why the Caius Fund is such an integral part of supporting the College. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Marissa Green (2012)
Annual Fund Officer
13 March 2018
Thomas Wemyss: I'm Thomas, a second year Natural Sciences student. Now that Lent Term is coming to an end, I'm excited to take part in the Telephone Campaign and chat to past Caians about their experiences, while also helping to support the College and the exciting projects that the Caius Fund facilitates.
Deepa Iyer: I'm Deepa Iyer, reading for an M Phil in Development Studies. I am very excited to be part of the 2018 Telephone Campaign at Caius. As I look to my future after school this summer, I feel that talking to the Caians before me would be a great way to know how their time had been at Caius and what they have done with their lives. As a first generation College-goer, this opportunity is a personal way for me to give back to the College for giving me the best support system for my year in Cambridge.
12 March 2018
Today some of our international alumni should be receiving their letters from the Master giving them more information on this year's Telephone Campaign, supporting the Caius Fund. We’re including with the letters a beautiful postcard of Caius' Waterhouse Building boldly lit up for the Cambridge e-Luminate Festival last month - we hope you like it.
Not only that, we've today launched our new short film showcasing the campaign and explaining how incredibly important alumni giving is to the College. Do take a look, and let us know what you think.
I am also excited to be showcasing our fabulous student callers on their own page, who are all excited to be starting their calls to alumni in a few weeks – preparations are underway! If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at annual.fund@cai.cam.ac.uk and I will be happy to chat!
Marissa Green (2012)
Annual Fund Officer
