Our Crowdfunding Groups
Thank you for your generous support!
While this project has ended, you can still make a gift at https://umfoundation.com/ignite.
Dear Donors,
We did it! Thanks to 49 generous donors, we have met our $2,000 fundraising goal! With two days still left to go in the campaign, please help us raise an additional $570. Here’s why:
To fully fund one compost and food waste reduction student intern for one year, we need just $570 more. Because of the outpouring of support that we’ve experienced since launching this campaign, we feel confident that we can meet this goal!
The intern will convert campus food waste into soil, educate the campus and city community about the importance of composting and work to reduce food waste in general.
Your donation, no matter how big or small, has already made a big impact on campus! Thank you so much for your support of composting at Ole Miss.
Sincerely,
The UM Compost Team
Dear UM Family and Friends,
Thank you all for your vital contributions to the UM Compost Program! As of today, we have seven days remaining and $250 left to raise until the conclusion of our fundraising campaign. Please help us meet our goal by visiting ignite.olemiss.edu/umcompost to donate today! Your donations will specifically be used to fund one student composting intern for an academic year.
The UM Compost Team has been dear to me through my entire college career, and the idea of funding another student intern to learn the ropes to take over as I graduate in a few weeks is bittersweet— but mostly pretty sweet, like a 5-gallon bucket of honeydew from the Rebel Market, one might say!
Well, I'm grabbing my boots and heading to the compost piles now, but I can't wait to check in with you all when our campaign comes to a close! Whether you're a Grassroots Supporter, a Food Waste Warrior or an Honorary Compost Team Member, your generous donation is extremely appreciated!
Again, THANK YOU so much! I hope you each have an excellent day!
Sincerely,
Victoria Burgos
Compost Program Founder
Senior, Recreation Administration
P.S. In addition to your donation, you can help support our campaign by becoming a digital ambassador and sharing the UM Compost Campaign via e-mail and social media. Please tag your posts with #UMcompost to spread the word about our program and the work that we’re doing to help make Ole Miss green!
Dear Donors,
It is with excitement and gratitude that we would like to announce that, less than two weeks into our crowdfunding campaign, we have raised 66 percent of our $2,000 fundraising goal! Thank you to our 31 generous donors!
Because your donation will help fund a student intern, we have prepared a short video sharing the history of the program and why we as students wanted to be involved.
Every contribution, no matter the amount, makes an invaluable difference to the campus environment and to the student interns like us who make this program possible. We’re immensely grateful for the opportunity to work for such an impactful initiative and even more grateful for the efforts of donors like you who enable us to do so. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The UM Compost Team
Did you know that the UM Compost Team has provided almost 5 cubic yards of compost to the UM Garden on campus? Members of the UM Garden Club use the nutrient-rich compost to grow food for the Ole Miss Food Bank.
Ole Miss students composted 13 tons of food waste from Rebel Market, the Grill at 1810 and the Marketplace at the Residential Colleges during 2015.
Food in a landfill emits methane gas—a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent that carbon dioxide. In a compost pile, food decomposes naturally and without emitting methane, greatly reducing environmental pollution.
Did you know that 40 percent of food waste in America is thrown away? While composting is a better alternative to landfilling, the best option is to plate thoughtfully and be careful to take only as much as you can eat.
In just one day, diners in Rebel Market throw away enough food to feed 60 people comfortably for a month.
Thanks to Ole Miss Dining staff members who collect the food to be composted as they prepare meals throughout the day, students were able to compost 99 percent of all food collected during the 2014-15 school year.
Diners at Rebel Market throw away an average of 414 pounds of food per day. This is enough food to feed one student for 3.5 years—almost the entirety of his or her college career!
When the UM Compost Project expanded to Rebel Market in Fall 2014, the amount of food waste they took on increased by 1,030 percent!