Student Emergency Fund

A Community Answers the Call

HHARRIS@bridgew.edu — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:12:37 +0000

A Community Answers the Call HHARRIS@bridgew.edu Mon, 12/21/2020 - 08:12

When students find themselves in need due to the pandemic, help is near

December 21, 2020

Heather Harris Michonski

When Tuveya Kirnon-Davis was forced to leave her home after COVID-19 initially hit, she wasn’t sure where to turn.

“For that first week, I only had the clothes on my back, my phone and chargers. Everything I had saved I had to spend in order to live,” she said.

Even more distressing for the senior art major was being without a computer.

“As a graphic designer it is crucial for me to have one,” she said.

Thankfully ��ؿ��Ƶ State University had a solution: the Student Emergency Fund (SEF), which was created in March to help students in need during the COVID-19 crisis.

Tuveya applied and qualified for SEF funding.

“The SEF helped me get back on my feet and more,” she said. “I was able to get a computer, all of my books, and anything else I needed to successfully get through the semester.”

Stories like Tuveya’s are why professors Melissa Winchell and Thomas Nestor have taken the lead, encouraging others in the BSU community to give to the Bears Care campaign which supports the SEF, overseen by the Office of Alumni and Development.

“This year has been hard…We want our students to know that even, and especially when life feels unbearable, we are a community that cares about them,” Dr. Winchell said.

As an incentive to donate to the Bears Care campaign, the BSU Foundation Board has committed to matching all gifts made throughout the month of December, up to $25,000.

“This campaign shows our students that the BSU community supports them. We want our students to know they have a whole community of alumni, faculty and staff looking out for them,” said Elizabeth Dubuque, development director.

Alumni and Development are taking their support one step further. Donations have also allowed them to create Bears Care Boxes for students who are forced to quarantine during the pandemic.

The care packages are filled with toiletries, snacks, games, water, towels and a t-shirt from President Frederick W. Clark Jr.

Each box is placed in the assigned room prior to a student arriving to quarantine.

For Tuveya, the support from the BSU community has meant everything.

“I was once upset and thought I wouldn’t be able to continue with school,” she said. “This fund lifted weight off my shoulders, got me back on my feet and let me continue my education here at BSU. Thank you to those who have donated.”

Do you have a BSU story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu

We want our students to know that even, and especially when life feels unbearable, we are a community that cares about them.

Dr. Melissa Winchell

Extra Help

HHARRIS@bridgew.edu — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 13:52:55 +0000

Extra Help HHARRIS@bridgew.edu Mon, 07/27/2020 - 09:52

Members of university community support the Student Emergency Fund

July 28, 2020

Heather Harris Michonski

When students struggle in school, even with concerns outside the classroom, teachers are often the people they turn to for help.

“We are the ones who see students more than anyone else on campus. We are the point people for them when they have an issue,” said ��ؿ��Ƶ State University English Professor Dr. Joyce Rain Anderson.

This Spring, BSU was forced to transition fully to online learning because of the coronavirus. Faculty and students successfully adapted and were able to complete the semester working remotely.

Faculty support didn’t stop at academics, however. Using union dues, BSU faculty and librarians recently made a sizable donation to the school’s Student Emergency Fund (SEF).

��ؿ��Ƶ State created the SEF to provide financial assistance to students experiencing hardships related to COVID-19.

“We witnessed the dire impact of the pandemic in our communities and with our students,” said Dr. Irina Seceleanu, associate professor of Mathematics. “We generally support our students in many different ways, and this was another way we could be there for them.”

The BSU Falmouth Road Race Team is also supporting the SEF. Made up of faculty, staff, students and alumni, the group is working together to raise $20,000 to add to the fund.

Falmouth Road Race is an annual tradition for many New Englanders. This year, because of coronavirus, the seven-mile race had to be canceled physically but runners were invited to participate virtually.

The official date of the race is August 16.

“With the virtual race we are able to run any seven-mile course we choose. While we can’t run as a team, we can run individually,” said Nicole West who works as a program coordinator in the BSU Children’s Physical Development Clinic.

The BSU Falmouth Road Race team made the decision to support the SEF this year because they recognized students are experiencing financial hardships because of the coronavirus.

“I am constantly in awe of the students of BSU. They are some of the hardest working, dedicated students I’ve ever met,” West said. “With the SEF fund, BSU is able to support these students and I love being able to give back to the BSU community.”

It does not surprise Seceleanu or Anderson that so many within the BSU community are willing to help.

“I’ve worked at several institutions and have never seen a faculty more dedicated to their students than at ��ؿ��Ƶ,” Anderson said. “The SEF is another way to ensure our students are going to be able to access education.”

Seceleanu encourages those who are able to consider making a donation.

“We know first-hand that this will make a big difference for our students,” she said.

To make a donation to the SEF through the BSU Falmouth Road Race team visit their Go Fund Me Page.

Do you have a BSU story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu

I’ve worked at several institutions and have never seen a faculty more dedicated to their students than at ��ؿ��Ƶ. The SEF is another way to ensure our students are going to be able to access education.

Dr. Joyce Rain Anderson

Help Available

HHARRIS@bridgew.edu — Fri, 01 May 2020 18:11:48 +0000

Help Available HHARRIS@bridgew.edu Fri, 05/01/2020 - 14:11

Special COVID-19 student emergency fund helps hundreds

May 4, 2020

Heather Harris Michonski

Story Series

COVID-19

When restaurants were forced to close their doors in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis, millions of servers around the country, like ��ؿ��Ƶ State University senior Nicole Shiffler, were suddenly without a job.

For Nicole it was her only source of income.

“I’ve been living on my own since I was 18,” she said. “I am a very independent person and losing all of my income was the scariest thing in the world.”

The New Jersey native lives in an apartment off campus and when she found herself jobless, she had no idea how she was going to come up with her rent or pay her bills.

“I was at a total loss, I wasn’t sure how I would finish my senior year. It was all incredibly scary,” she said.

Overwhelmed, but still determined, Nicole filed for unemployment but unfortunately wouldn’t see her first check arrive for almost a month.

As her parents still claim her as a dependent, she does not qualify for the government’s Coronavirus and Economic Impact Payments. Her prospects for staying afloat were becoming increasingly bleak.

“I was stressed out. I was trying to make ends meet and keep my head on straight,” she said.

The political science major had a hard time focusing on her academics, and one day asked her professor, Dr. Melinda Tarsi, for an extension on an assignment. In her email she also shared the details of her financial crisis.

Dr. Tarsi not only granted the extension but also encouraged Nicole to apply to the BSU COVID-19 Student Emergency Fund.

“I had no idea there even was such a thing,” Nicole said.

She filled out the application and discovered she qualified. BSU then used money from the fund to cover her rent and sent the payment directly to her landlord. For the first time in weeks, Nicole felt like she could breathe again.

“Relief feels like too small a word,” she said. “I’m not really sure my mental health would have held up. Financial stability is everything.”

Eileen Estudante, director of Student Outreach and Special Programs, is one of the BSU community members who oversees the regular student emergency fund. When businesses were forced to shut down because of COVID-19, university officials quickly recognized that many students and families were going to likely lose their jobs and sources of income.

In response BSU created the COVID-19 student emergency fund to provide immediate assistance to those experiencing hardships related to COVID-19.

Helping students like Nicole is why the fund was created, Estudante said.

“These are very uncertain times and as difficult as they are for us to try and navigate, it is so much more challenging and painful for our students,” she said.

The need is great. As of April 29, BSU has received 599 applications from both undergraduate and graduate students, and to date has provided approximately $330,000 to 438 students.

According to Elizabeth Dubuque, director of alumni and development, the applications are greater than the funding available. BSU is currently seeking donations for the COVID-19 student emergency fund in order to continue meeting its student needs.

“Supporting this fund is a commitment to our community and to our students and provides such a sense of hope,” Dubuque said. “It is so important to help our students progress toward completion of their degrees and more often than not, this type of financial support is a game changer.”

Nicole can attest to that.

“Getting this help has allowed me to continue, to finish, and to have this time and be able to focus on my schoolwork. It’s the greatest feeling in the world,” she said.

And when BSU finalizes a new date for commencement ceremonies for the class of 2020, Nicole will be there.

“Every student has a different experience, but we all worked so hard for that moment,” she said. “I want to walk across that stage and see my parents out there…it’s validation and I hope a lot of students will have the opportunity to go.”

To apply for assistance there is an online application. For those in a position to donate visit, https://alumni.bridgew.edu/studentemergency. Checks can also be made payable to BSU Foundation and mailed to P.O. Box 42, ��ؿ��Ƶ, MA 02324.

Do you have a BSU story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu

“Relief feels like too small a word."

Nicole Shiffler, '20