A ring that means so much to so many is also now giving back to support the next generation.
The X-Ring Store, which opened on the StFX campus in September 2016, has already donated over $40,000 into helping students.
Ever since the store opened, all net proceeds from purchases of the X-Ring—iconic symbol of Xaverian pride, accomplishment and community—have gone directly into the Xaverian Fund, designed to provide student scholarships and bursaries to ensure a StFX education is available to all deserving students regardless of financial background. The Xaverian Fund also helps bring a number of top academic students to campus through a variety of scholarship opportunities.
Since 2016, the X-Ring Store has donated over $40,000 to the general Xaverian Fund, and most recently, this funding has been directed into the Senior Class Gift Fund, which annually identifies a student need and helps give back. In the past three years, the Senior Class Gift Fund has paid it forward, creating scholarships through the Student Refugee Fund, the Emergency Mental Health Fund and the Family Helps Family Fund.
The contribution from the X-Ring Store in some cases has been between 25-50 per cent of the funds raised for the class gift, all student-led initiatives. These have included:
1. Class of 2017—Funding an X-Ring bursary for a senior student who embodies what it means to be a Xaverian.
2. Class of 2018—Funding a bursary for a refugee student.
3. Class of 2019—Funding a mental health bursary for a student in crisis.
4. Class of 2020—Family Helps Family bursary for students experiencing personal loss.
Bob Hale, Director, Ancillary Services, says when the X-Ring Store opened, they wanted to positively impact the community and the idea to donate the net profits of X-Ring sales to scholarships and bursaries was seen as a terrific opportunity to invest in students and give back to the Xaverian community.
“Being able to give back to those students who are in need helps you achieve a greater sense of personal satisfaction and growth. I believe it feels good to help others. With every purchase of a ring from the X-Ring store, our students are giving back to the next generation of Xaverians. It does make a difference,” Mr. Hale says.
Class of 2020 Senior Class Co-Presidents Jonas Lawrence and Taylor Kennah, who helped establish the 2020 senior class gift, the Family Helps Family bursary, have seen the impact.
“As Senior Class Co-Presidents, we wanted to extend a huge thank you to everyone at the X-Ring Store, for this donation as well as all the other support they have given us this year. I think recent events have shown how important family is to all of us, and how impactful a family emergency or trauma can be on a student’s well-being. We know that continued Xaverian generosity like this can ensure that when these things do happen, students can rely on their StFX family to support them,” they say.
StFX students receive their X-Ring on December 3 – the feast of St. Francis Xavier, or StFX Day – each year. The ceremony is one of the most anticipated events in the StFX calendar.
