All of us in the Murray Edwards community would like to express our warmest thanks to our many generous alumnae after our 2024 Telephone Campaign to raise funds for student support exceeded all its targets and forged new relationships between past and present students.
We were thrilled with the response to this year’s campaign, which saw 62% of all the alumnae our student callers spoke to opting to give – a superb achievement. We were especially pleased at the significant increase in the number of young alumnae giving back to the College: the proportion of those under 40 who chose to donate increased by 40% compared with last year's campaign. Both landmarks are a wonderful way to celebrate our 70th anniversary this year.
Our students also enjoyed talking to women who had gone before them at New Hall/Murray Edwards, whether benefiting from advice from recent graduates following the same career path or hearing uproarious stories of life in the College in decades past.
Callers spoke to a grand total of 589 alumnae over the course of the one-and-a-half-week event. The campaign was in aid of the Rosemary Murray Fund for Student Support: the College's main way of supporting students financially. The fund, named after our founding President, covers bursaries, hardship funding, travel awards, scholarships and prizes, and is designed to help ensure all our students can get the most out of their Cambridge experience, no matter what their background. Every penny of the money raised for the Rosemary Murray Fund goes directly to students.
Alumnae were of course free to support other College activities if they wished, and we also received generous donations to funds including College Priorities, Gateway, and Access & Outreach.
Hannah Winter, one of our student callers, told us she had loved being part of the Telephone Campaign. ‘I absolutely love speaking to our alumnae, especially when they studied the same subject as me or if we share a similar background. Everyone’s experiences are so different, but all punctuated by wonderful memories and a love for the college.
‘Hearing everyone’s stories is a constant reminder that I am part of an amazing network of women who have all contributed to our college’s emerging history.’
Alumnae are often generous enough not only to donate but to share advice with students. Hannah said: ‘The best piece of advice that I have received so far has been to keep doing what makes me happy, and not to worry too much about the future. So long as I am doing the things that I enjoy, I can’t go far wrong.’
Murray Edwards President Dorothy Byrne said: ‘We would like to thank our wonderful alumnae for their generosity. I am particularly pleased that so many of our younger alumnae chose to help their successors enjoy the same opportunities they had at College. It has been a pleasure to see the Telephone Campaign bind together New Hall and Murray Edwards alumnae of all generations, especially in our 70th anniversary year.’
Jay Longworth, Director of Development, said: ‘We’re grateful to our alumnae for their fantastic response to our campaign. Every penny they have donated will help our students make the most of their Cambridge education, allowing them, for example, to make study trips or carry out work experience that would otherwise have been unaffordable.’