Last, but certainly not least, on our list of values is Service.  In the Office of Advancement, "we are committed to working closely with internal and external stakeholders, alumni, donors, and friends in our community to address their needs and always provide high levels of service."

On Dec. 3, Queen’s Advancement professionals heard an inspirational address from Adrianne Haslet. Through her own story, Adrianne taught us all about resilience. As 2020 draws to a close, it is clear there has never been a time in most of our lives when resilience mattered more. 

As I write this, we are a few days away from our holiday break.  It will be a different one this year without a doubt. Despite the circumstances I hope each and every one of you can take some time to rest and recharge.

Optimism and excitement for the year ahead is pervasive at this time of year. We are renewed by the fresh start and anticipate the potential for new beginnings in the year ahead. For the 2021 new year, the possibility of returning to more social interactions thanks to a COVID-19 vaccine makes these sentiments particularly poignant. 
 

There is a lot said about how we, as an advancement team, needed to quickly shift gears, be innovative, and manage our business remotely due to the pandemic.  This is certainly true, and for the most part, not without some speed bumps, we carried on and managed to successfully pivot and keep things afloat. What one might not expect is how resilient, passionate, and committed our Branch volunteers have been through these times.  

Just before the holidays, Karen wrote about the work that we want to do around determining what a post-COVID working environment could look like for Office of Advancement staff currently located in Summerhill and Old Meds. I am happy to report that this work, which is being facilitated by Lisa Sansom from Organizational Development, started this week with an hour-long brainstorming session with ALT.

With the holiday season distant in the rearview mirror, the Office of Advancement, along with our colleagues across campus, is well immersed in this most unique of winter terms.  For all of us, it will prove to be a period of challenge, opportunity, new learning, and, when we take a moment to reflect, accomplishment.  Shortly we will all become more involved in the exciting Building a Better Workplace initiative.   We will also turn our attention to forward planning for a very compressed slate of high-profile events in the fall, and many of us remain focused on our objec

The Advancing IDEAS committee continues to work on a plan of action to advance EDII in Advancement.  We know we have much work to do. This work will take many forms, involve all Advancement staff, and our efforts and progress will be ongoing. Today I want to tell you about two new Advancement initiatives and remind you of one university initiative that will provide us with opportunities to learn together:

Advancement EDII Reading Initiative

As I reflected on what to include in my inaugural ALTogether Now newsletter, I wanted to use this platform to say thank you to our entire Advancement community for such a warm welcome. I have so appreciated everyone who has reached out and those of you who have been so generous with your time over the last month, allowing me to ask questions and taking the time to have chats with me.   

As the ALT embarks on our annual planning process, I thought this was a good moment to provide you with a glimpse into our process.  

ALTogether Now is about fresh starts and new beginnings this week. (Yes Scott, I am saying the same thing twice -- for emphasis!) 

First, there is exciting news to share about a redesign of our alumni logo. This is definitely a fresh start for the traditional alumni flag logo we are so familiar with.