All college alumni are familiar with those annoying calls that happen once a year from their alma mater, asking for a donation. Alumni see the familiar area code on their caller I.D. and ignore the call. The university will call multiple times a week until eventually they give up, but not before the recipient of the call either gets entirely fed up, picks up the call and yells at the caller, or they just become filled with annoyance over the incessant calling.

I currently work for the Alumni Association at my university, and I am one of those students lucky enough to work in the university call center and make these calls for 3 hours a shift, three times a week. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fairly easy job, and I work with a great group of students, but the downside is having to spend most of the shift marking people as “No Answers” or having people be extremely rude to me. I get it, you don’t want to donate to the school because you don’t care to or you can’t due to your financial situation. You’re annoyed that I asked you multiple times to give, or that I would even have the audacity to ask at all. Well, here are some things that I, and every other student working a job like this across the country, want you to know.

First, if you don’t miss the call and have even a minute to spare, PICK UP THE PHONE. If you don’t have the money to give, that’s fine. Usually we aren’t calling just to get your money. Yes, that is the main purpose of our call, but we usually want to update your records and inform you about events happening around campus. You don’t have to hang on the line for 15 minutes or give a million dollars but just give us a chance to talk. Also, if you pick up the phone and tell us you can’t give, you likely won’t get called for the rest of the year. (It gets marked differently than those who don’t pick up) Or, if you can’t give right at the moment that we call but will be able to in the near future, there are ways to make sure you can give then.

Second, if you can’t afford the amount the caller asks for, it’s ok to tell us that. We hear it a lot and most of the time we know you won’t give on the first time we ask. But what you should know, is that a donation of any size makes a difference. You don’t need to fund a scholarship or build a new library from the ground up. Even a few dollars can make a HUGE difference for all the students. Being on a scholarship myself, I know the money had to come from somewhere, and every penny probably didn’t come from the same person. Don’t ever think your donation doesn’t make a difference.

Lastly, BE POLITE. I don’t know how many times I’ve been told that millennials don’t have any manners and that we’re a rude generation, but let me tell you, some older adults are much worse. I don’t need or even want you to stay on the line for 15 minutes telling me about each of your children/grandchildren, but politely responding to my questions would be great. Not hanging up on me as soon as I say where I’m calling from would be much appreciated. There’s no need for the swearing or the yelling. A simple “No, I can’t give” will suffice.

The point of all this is that the callers are people too. We know we don’t always call at the best of times, but we don’t have any way of knowing what you’re doing or what your financial situation is. Remember that just because you can’t see the person over the phone, doesn’t mean they aren’t a real person with real feelings. This goes beyond just calls. It stands for emails, comments on social media, and face to face interactions you have with strangers every day.