Many donors asked us to send notes of appreciation to the laid-off workers:

  • We honor your labor.
  • We love you!!!
  • You have helped us SO long and we're glad to be able even in a little bit to return the favor. Solidarity Forever!
  • My time at Oberlin would not have been the same without your hard work and dedication to the community. I don't think I alone will be able to fully repay you for it but I hope this donation helps a little. Thanks for what you've done for all of us.
  • Thank you for your work and I am sorry the college is treating you this way. I will be letting them know that I donated to the 1833 fund instead of to the College because of their choices.
  • Oberlin misses you and is diminished by your departure. All good wishes and many thanks for your hard and under-appreciated work.
  • Please know that the current and past students stand with you and are fighting for you. We're sorry that our college has behaved so shamefully.......Robi (Class of '85)
  • I'm sorry Oberlin has treated you unfairly! The alumni stand with you!
  • Many of you are my friends, my Oberlin community and I am honored to be a donor to this fund.
  • Thank you for your hard work and dedication. You deserved better treatment. Best wishes for a brighter future and new opportunities!
  • It makes me sad and angry that Oberlin College has not kept its promises to work in partnership with all members of its community - especially people who have given their lives to jobs that support the College. All good wishes to your and yours!
  • Thank you for your years of service and best of luck moving forward. We hope this fund will help make this trying time a little less difficult.
  • I am concerned for you and hope this helps. I am sorry about how this was handled and hope you are well.
  • Solidarity Forever!
  • You are not alone!
  • Please know that as an alumnus and parent of an alumnus your hard work on the Oberlin campus did not go unappreciated.
  • We've got your backs! Thank you for everything. Some of my best times at Oberlin were working in the kitchen at Dascomb & getting to know the cooks and custodians there. They were mentors to me when I really needed some. Sending support & love!
  • <3 solidarity forever
  • Thinking of you with love and gratitude and sending all the good vibes.
  • Alumnx stand with you!
  • Oberlin is nothing without y'all and they're about to find that out. Happy holidays!
  • Thinking of you and your families during this challenging time. Solidarity forever!
  • We the Oberlin family care about you and value you even if the current administration isn't reflecting that. I am so sorry for the difficulties and strains that these layoffs have caused.
  • Solidarity! I wish you all the best and as an Oberlin graduate from 1973 I am grateful to the campus workers then and now who made my education and the education of so many others possible. Solidarity!
  • We are so grateful for your contribution to the college and to the students there.
  • THANK YOU for everything you have done to make Oberlin the special place it is. I deeply appreciate all that workers like you did to make my experience at Oberlin possible. Sending you lots of love and strength! Sarah OC '07
  • You are in our thoughts. Be safe and stay well.
  • Solidarity forever!
  • I'm deeply disappointed in Oberlin for putting you in this situation. Wishing you the best at a hard time.
  • Because of you, I have the memories of Oberlin that I do.
  • I am so sorry that Oberlin treated you this way. As an alum I stand in solidarity with you and am sending love and peace your way!
  • Thank you so much for your service. It is people like you who used to make Oberlin great.
  • Carter and I are sorry to see you go. Wish this had gone differently. Hoping you and your families are and remain well.
  • We stand with you! We are watching the college's actions and will not stand for it.
  • I appreciate your dedication to Oberlin College. The action the College took pains me -- it is inconsistent with the Oberlin that I love.
  • I was deeply saddened and angry to hear about this situation. Thank you for the care you poured into Oberlin College. As an alum I know your work was inextricably linked to my positive experience as a college student. You are not alone in this moment
  • Thank you for your service. I am so disgusted with the College for betraying what I thought were our shared values. I know that my disgust won't get you your job back but I hope that the donations can help tide you over until you find a new job.
  • I'm sorry that Oberlin has not valued you as an essential part of our community. I hope that our support for this fund can help even if it's just in a small way to help you during this transition.
  • Thank you for your dedication to your work and to the students at Oberlin over the years. You are irreplaceable.
  • Solidarity with Oberlin workers!
  • You are not alone! The Oberlin student family loves and supports you all.
  • Stay strong! Oberlin will eventually get back to its true values!
  • Wishing you peace and strength in this difficult season. Oberlin College should treat its employees and community stakeholders with respect. We'll keep fighting for more accountable leadership.
  • On behalf of so many of us sending strength and hope for all the best things for you and your families.
  • I'm sorry Oberlin College isn't valuing your worth and labor the way they should. We see y'all! And value you.
  • As an Oberlin alum I am ashamed that this is the decision the college has made. I will continue voicing my disapproval to the college and spreading the word to other alum.
  • Thank you for all your work over the years! We students & alumni appreciate you deeply.
  • I'm very sorry for the financial stress the layoffs have caused. Oberlin has financial challenges but this is not the response I expect from my College.
  • With gratitude for the wonderful work you did to support Oberlin over decades of service - thank you!
  • Thank you so much for all of the work you did for Oberlin students and the Oberlin College community in general. As a current student I think that the College's actions are entirely unjust and I really hope that the 1833 Fund will help you.
  • Solidarity from Oberlin alum and current member of UAW Local 2110.
  • Oberlin alums stand with you!
  • I'm so sorry that you were treated this way by Oberlin. I hope that my donation will help you during this difficult period. I wish all of you and your families the best.
  • Thank you for feeding me, caring for me, and making the college a comfortable and clean space to learn and grow. We owe you so much more for any success Oberlin or Obies have had is the result of your care.
  • Oberlin alumni value the work that you do
  • Thank you for being there to support the students and the college. The alums are sending you our support now. Deeply sorry the administration chose to ignore the union agreement and terminate your contracts. I expected better from them.
  • Thank you for your years of service to Oberlin College. Please know that many alumni are horrified by the College’s actions and we stand in solidarity with you.
  • I find the actions of Oberlin discordant with principles I associated with my college. A small donation to help laid-off workers cope with the harm visited upon them.
  • We stand with you! Your work and life are appreciated and valued.
  • Solidarity forever!
  • The workers who supervised my work-study jobs taught me as much about life and responsibility as my professors taught me about literature. I have not forgotten either of their lessons.
  • So glad to donate to you! Wishing you strength during this difficult time. For now my donations will go to you instead of to Oberlin College.
  • Thank you so much for everything you've done to make Oberlin our home. It would not have been the same without you.
  • This is one of the most important things we learned at Oberlin and it was in fact our motto: Learning and Labor. They go together naturally and should never be separate. Wish I could afford more.
  • Thank you so much for all your service!
  • We stand with you!
  • I am so sorry the college is behaving so brashly and thanklessly. You deserve so much better and this is the least we can do.
  • Thanks for your many years of service to Oberlin students and faculty.
  • Many of us Oberlin alums do NOT support the actions of the college. We may not be able to change their decisions but we want to support you in any ways we can. These actions do not reflect the Oberlin values that we thought the college represented
  • My deep apologies for the unexpected economic situation the College put you into.
  • I hope this helps. Really sorry the college I love did not have your back during this difficult time. Thank you for all you have done for Oberlin and the greater Oberlin community.
  • I hope this helps with your transition.
  • Solidarity from Ypsilanti Michigan! Best of luck to all of you and thank you for your service to the Oberlin community.
  • Thank you for all you have done for Oberlin! With you in solidarity!
  • Thanks for the support that you gave me and my peers. You made our college function; we truly couldn't learn and live without you. I'm sorry that our attempts at a solidarity campaign did not secure your jobs. Please take care and stay safe.
  • Speaking for myself and many of my peers in the class of 2019: we stand in full solidarity with you. Much love to you and your families.
  • I'm so sorry this has happened to you. You were working for the Oberlin I love. But it isn't the same Oberlin anymore.
  • Thank you for being friends and kind coworkers when I worked in CDS as a student. I'm so sorry the college has made this awful unjust hurtful infuriating decision. I hope this contribution makes a difference.
  • sending love & solidarity
  • Thank you for your hard work all these years and your sacrifices. I hope this helps and that there are better days ahead with a change in administration. Thank you for making our daughter's life at Oberlin so good in these last three years.
  • thank you for all your service.
  • Our thoughts are with you in these troubled times. Hang in there.
  • Sorry you have to suffer this I sincerely hope this this little bit helps your transition to better days
  • Stay safe solidarity forever
  • I am so sorry for the way you have been treated by Oberlin College. As an alumni I know what an important and integral role you were in making the college a great institution and a great home away from home for students while I was there. Thank u!
  • I graduated from Oberlin years ago but I still want to support the community there as much as possible!
  • Keep up the struggle
  • We are ashamed at what Oberlin has done but we are grateful for everything you have done for the students and believe in your future. All the best!
  • Thank you for everything you've done for us students.
  • Learning and labor
  • I am so sorry to hear that the college is not supporting you. I appreciate all you have done for Oberlin students and the Oberlin community and wish to show you how grateful I am for the impact you had on my college experience.
  • As the parent of a fourth year Oberlin student I am so grateful for the men and women who have helped keep Oberlin running smoothly. I stand with Oberlin workers!
  • You deserved better. Good luck to all of you.
  • An injury to one is an injury to all.
  • We greatly appreciate your many years of dedication to Oberlin College. You were essential to the life of the College.
  • We stand with you in opposition to these actions of Oberlin College that offend our principles and the historic principles of the College.
  • In solidarity!
  • Shameful treatment!!
  • The workers at Oberlin did so much for us students and I was always grateful to exchange a smile as I went about my day
  • Many people did not agree with Oberlin College's decision to terminate your employment. We hope this token of our concern is helpful in the short run and that a better opportunity comes your way soon.
  • Oberlin alumni stand with you!
  • I stand behind my Union brothers and sisters all the way. What the college has done to you is unconscionable and flies in the face of what Oberlin stands for. I will not support their actions.
  • Thank you for your dedication to sustaining the Oberlin Community. You helped make the school home for me and many others. These contributions are the least of what you deserve. Please let us know how we can continue to support you.
  • I stand behind the workers who have been treated in such a cavalier and heartless way by Oberlin
  • Please know that the Oberlin community is grateful to you for your work and all you have done to sustain us and that we will continue to work against the unjust policies of the college administration. Wishing you well during these difficult times.
  • I am ashamed that the college administration has failed to support the staff with the same commitment that they bring to the students and faculty - thanks to all of you for making our Oberlin College experiences possible!
  • Best wishes to all of you. Stay healthy.
  • We stand with you!
  • We miss you!!
  • I hope the new year finds health and good jobs for you. I know this has been a very bleak year!
  • Thank you all for your efforts. You will not be forgotten and the fight will continue.
  • Words cannot express how grateful I am to all of you for your incredible work. You sustained me with warm meals and clean living spaces  with smiles in the hallway and stories about your lives. Without your kindness  I would not have graduated.
  • With gratitude for your service and hope for a better future. 
  • Oberlin grads are in solidarity with you!
  • As a graduate of Oberlin College  I'm ashamed of how the administration has treated you.  This year I'm donating to you  instead of to the College.
  • Wishing you good fortune in the new year.
  • We stand with you!
  • In solidarity.
  • Thank you for your years of service to the Oberlin community  and wishing you many blessings during the holidays and in the new year!
  • Thank you all for your many years of dedication to Oberlin and the love and care you all gave to all of us. <3
  • Thank you for everything you have given to the Oberlin staff and students over the years.  I so appreciate all you have done for us.
  • We are so grateful to you for your years of service and for your role in shaping Oberlin College. Without your support  the students would not be where they are today.
  • Thank you for all you've contributed to Oberlin and I'm sorry the college has not supported you as you deserve.
  • I think of you often  and I'm gutted every time. You have been such a blessing to the Oberlin community. I hope you and your families are staying safe during this incredibly challenging time.
  • You the workers at Oberlin were as critical to my education as faculty  if not more. I hope this helps a bit  and that you find your way forward quickly.
  • Wish I could do more at this time. However  I've come to understand if everyone gives even a little  not just from abundance but to needs beyond their own  blessings abound for all. Be blessed.  Mike Lubas Rochester NY
  • I hope that this helps!
  • Class of 1995 grad thinking of you.
  • I know this is a hard time for you--just know there are a lot of us thinking about you  and appreciative of all your hard work!
  • We see you and support you. With all the best from a former Obie student from many years ago.
  • Thank you!  And thank you for being union.  Sorry that Oberlin College acted so disreputably in breaking the union.  Solidarity!