Last week, the University of New Haven’s Office of Residential Life (ORL), sent an email to students that introduced a program  called Charger Bucks.

The program is designed as an incentive for residential students of the university to involve themselves more with the ORL. According to an email from Tisa Williams, residence director of Celentano Hall, and Ally Kovicar, ORL area coordinator, residents will receive Charger Bucks by “following your residence area social media pages, studying in the common areas of your residence halls, attending RA programs, visiting staff during resource hours.”

Claudia Von Suskil, senior resident assistant, said that the program was initially introduced in first-year residence halls, she heard the residents enjoyed it.

The program was spearheaded by ORL community director, Molly Kavanagh, who got the idea from her time as an undergraduate at Salem State University. When she went to graduate school at the University of Maine, working as an academic mentor, Kavanagh started a similar program, encapsulating all 17 residence halls on campus.

“The first giveaway held the first semester had about 30 attendees and eventually was so large we had to book a lecture hall as we had over 300 attendees,” said Kavanagh.

So where can students spend Charger Bucks?

“Residents can use Charger Bucks they’ve collected to enter in for certain prizes, and each Charger Buck counts as one entry, like a raffle of sorts,” said Suskil. “ORL is still working on some of the prizes, so unfortunately I don’t have any information on that that I am able to share right now.”

Residents will be able to turn in their Charger Bucks for prizes at the end of the year at an event hosted by Residential Life. While specific prizes have been left ambiguous, the email from Kovicar and Williams did mention the possibility of gift cards.

“I think once everyone hears about about the prizes, that will bump up the program more,” said Suskil. “I think it’s a good way to encourage people to be involved, so I’m hoping it’s received well.”