Bear2Bear Benefit & Bash

Save the date for our
3rd Annual Bear2Bear Benefit & Bash!

Thursday, April 15, 2021
Phoenixville Foundry, Phoenixville, PA

We hope we will be able to get together in person in April, 2021. If not, we will hold our event virtually like we did this past spring. For now, save the date and plan to support our Bear2Bear Student Emergency Fund either in person or from your home!

The Bear2Bear Fund has seen a big increase in demand due to COVID-19 and this unprecedented moment in our history. Thank you to all those who continue to support this Fund and our students.

Click here to donate directly to the Fund

Thank you to everyone who joined our virtual event in April!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this past spring’s event was moved online to a fully digital experience. And the Ursinus community stepped up in a big way. Together, we raised over $220,000 for the Bear2Bear Student Emergency Fund through sponsorships, donations and auction proceeds. We are so grateful!

2020 Bear2Bear Planning Committee

2020 Honoree - Dr. Joseph DeSimone ’86

We honored Joseph DeSimone, Ph.D. ’86 with the Bear2Bear Impact Award for Leadership and Service. DeSimone is Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Carbon, a leading digital 3D manufacturing company. He is globally recognized for his achievements in developing and commercializing advanced technologies in several cutting-edge fields such as 3D printing, precision medicine, nanoparticle fabrication and green chemistry. DeSimone is one of the very few people who are members of all three U.S. National Academies: the National Academy of Engineering (2005), the National Academy of Medicine (2014) and the National Academy of Sciences (2012). In 2016, he received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation during a ceremony at the White House. DeSimone has served the Ursinus community in many capacities, including as a member of the Board of Trustees for 15 years.

Read more about our honoree here.

Have a suggestion for who we should honor in 2021? Please contact Jamie Karinch, associate director of external relations and college events at jkarinch@ursinus.edu or 610-409-3144.

What is the Bear2Bear Student Emergency Fund?

The Bear2Bear Student Emergency Fund provides special grants of up to $5,000 to students who are facing temporary financial hardship as a result of an emergency or crisis situation. The fund has recently been expanded to include completion grants for students who are near graduation but whose financial circumstances may jeopardize their ability to finish their Ursinus academic careers.

The fund was generously initiated by our 2019 honoree, Will Abele ’61, a valued alumnus and member of the Ursinus Board of Trustees, in the 2017-2018 academic year and the first grants were awarded in the Spring 2018 semester. The fund is supported through generous donations from members of the Ursinus community including all proceeds raised through the Bear2Bear Benefit & Bash event.

Click here to support the Bear2Bear Student Emergency Fund directly.

The inaugural Bear2Bear Benefit & Bash

In 2019, more than 250 guests—including alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff and other community members—were in attendance as together we celebrated the many contributions of Joan and Will ’61 Abele, who received the Bear2Bear Impact Award for Leadership and Service. There were more than 130 silent and live auction packages available for bidding and by the end of the evening we raised approximately $200,000 from the auction, sponsorships and event donations which supported the Bear2Bear Student Emergency Fund.