Those fresh, youthful voices on the line asking you for contributions to support the Parents Fund for Cal are students working their way through college.

For five years, the university's development office has mounted an in-house, student-staffed telephone fundraising program for a variety of annual programs, including the Parents Fund for Cal. With a 1998-99 goal of $565,000, the Parents Fund for Cal is unrestricted, allowing Chancellor Berdahl to support and enhance the undergraduate experience -- everything from job programs and emergency grants for students, to better laboratory and classroom spaces, faculty support, funding for library acquisitions, and improved campus safety.

Students phone from a calling center on the south side of campus throughout the year. They speak to over 60,000 Cal alumni and friends each year, including over 15,000 parents. Last year student callers raised $2.1 million for Cal. This year they hope to raise $2.5 million.

Adam Underwood, a junior transfer student in mass communications from Half Moon Bay, enjoys the flexible work hours and the "cool" student supervisors at the calling center.

"You learn great communication skills here and they understand the demands of balancing work and school," he says.

Christina Vasquez, an American Studies major from Irvine, says she likes calling parents because, "parents appreciate learning about the needs of the university. They know that we are helping to improve Cal with our requests and they almost always want to participate. They know that the money we are raising will affect their son or daughter."

Caller Julie Zhu often makes calls for the Parents Fund for Cal in Mandarin. "I even spoke to a parent from the same small village in China where my father was born," she says.

"Parents ask good questions on so many topics," says Zhu. "I really feel I have helped them when I'm able to give them information that they want. I always encourage parents to call the Cal Parents Helpline if I can't answer their question immediately."

Sophomore Jamon Hicks, an English major from Los Angeles, says he enjoys calling Cal's parents because "they are especially optimistic about Cal and are enthusiastic to speak to a current student. They have many of the same concerns that my parents have, so I understand where they're coming from. I'm proud of Cal, so it's easy to call others who care about the university too."

If you are interested in making a gift to the Parents Fund for Cal, or if you'd like more information about student employment opportunities at the calling center, contact Jennifer Cutting, Parents Fund for Cal, University of California, Berkeley, University Relations, 2440 Bancroft Way, CA, 94720-4200; (510) 643-0415.

-- Jennifer Cutting