1848 Minutes to Change a Life
When you give to the award-winning Odyssey Project, you’re helping to change a life…a family… a whole community. This Day of the Badger, your donation could really make a difference – and TRIPLE in impact.
People told Director Emily Auerbach that Odyssey wouldn’t work because “Poor people didn’t want to read Plato,” but each year, our alumni go on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees, inspire their children, and become local leaders.
Today, we need your support more than ever!
- Last year we received a record number of applications – 160 for 30 seats – showing there’s a big need out there for what we offer.
- Our students are paying more for daily necessities like utilities and food – and we paid more for eviction prevention in 2023 than ever before.
- We’ve made it a priority to provide meals before all classes, so students can focus on learning, not hunger.
- We’ve added programs for seniors (Odyssey Senior) and military veterans (Odyssey Beyond Wars), and expanded to three more prisons (Odyssey Beyond Bars).
For our 20th anniversary, you helped us raise $26,000. This year, there’s another amazing reason to give! Bob Auerbach – Emily’s father, UW–Madison professor emeritus, and resident Odyssey Project “Piano Man”– is turning 95 and offering a $100,000 match for Odyssey’s Family Fund (which supports immediate student needs) through May 31. And any Day of the Badger gift will have triple the impact, because Emily and her husband, Keith Meyer, are also offering a $100,000 match of their own! That means your $50 gift will become $150 and a $95 gift to honor Bob for his birthday will become $285.
So, join us to celebrate and change a life, Tuesday, April 16 at 10:12 a.m. through Wednesday, April 17 at 5 p.m. Help us spread the word by tagging@uwodysseyproject with #DayoftheBadger and #OdysseyChangesLives!