Giving back: As manager of the Student Financial Aid Office, Tasneem Salasa knows what financial support means to students - which is why she agreed to donate to UCT, and why she now features on the Why I Give to UCT campaign.

The Development and Alumni Department (DAD) has added a fresh twist to its annual fundraising drive aimed at alumni, friends and staff.

Titled Why I Give to UCT, this year the campaign boasts a selection of posters featuring alumni and staff who have donated money to UCT. (UCT folks will see the staff posters around campus soon, and on Facebook and other DAD sites.) The posters also allow the featured personalities to explain what made them open their purses to the university.

"It really does change students' lives," says Cindy de Oliveira of the Student Financial Aid Office. "I give because UCT has given me so much already," observes Abdu Mohamed of the Division of Chemical Pathology. And "... if worthy students are prevented from entering UCT for financial reasons alone, I am more than happy to do my little bit," notes Professor Jean-Paul van Belle of the Department of Information Systems.

"It's the first time we've asked alumni and staff to share why they are willing to support the university," explains Jasmine Erasmus, individual-giving officer at DAD. This, DAD hopes, will encourage others to do likewise, says Erasmus, who points out that no gift is too small.