Every May campus gets a free makeover courtesy of hundreds of students and volunteers from the faculty and staff. Now Ducks everywhere can join in the University Day action by supporting #DucksGive, the university’s annual day of giving.

The UO’s giving day coincides with University Day, which is tomorrow, May 18. While volunteers fan out across the 250-acre campus to pull weeds, spread mulch and plant flowers, alumni can help release more than $1 million for 38 projects ranging from scholarships to facilities, simply by going online and making a gift.

For example, the Black Alumni Network will release $10,000 for the Black Cultural Center as soon as 50 people donate to their challenge. The countdown clock on the #DucksGive website will track donations for each project in real time from noon today, May 17, until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time tomorrow, May 18.

Organizer Rob Dow said #DucksGive hopes to increase the number of donors to 1,876 — UO’s founding year — from last year’s 1,503.

“The idea is to help people come together and pool their resources in a way that may not be possible as individuals,” Dow said. “With almost every college and unit participating, you can help make an impact all over campus.”

On Thursday, as their schedules allow, University Day volunteers will report to Collier Lawn, at the corner of West 13th Avenue and University Street, for an assignment and tools. Everyone who spends at least an hour gardening between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. will earn a free University Day t-shirt and the satisfaction of being part of a proud UO tradition dating back to 1904.

Follow the University Day action on Facebook. Support the Giving Day challenge of your choice at #DucksGive.

—By Melody Ward Leslie, University Communications