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The University of Arkansas is urging locals to donate to one of several emergency funds established to help students who are facing hardships related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Four funds are available, including the U of A Cares Fund which is a general fund for students with unexpected needs that arise from situations outside their control. Gifts to this fund will be used for housing and food insecurity, reduced hours/income for hourly jobs, technology for remote learning, medical care and prescriptions, travel to return home, and other unforeseen expenses.
The three other funds are designed to help with specific subsets of the student population, including the Veterans Resource and Information Center Emergency Fund for students who have served or are serving in the military, the Graduate School and International Education Student Emergency Fund for grad students and their families, and the International Education Catastrophic Fund for students outside the country.
From the UA:
This public health crisis has already posed significant challenges to the university. Our students are dealing with unprecedented disruptions to their academic journeys as they transition to remote learning, see local jobs eliminated or hours cut short and find numerous programs and events canceled.
The Needy Family Graduate Student Emergency Fund and the International Education Catastrophic Fund have student applications available online. Committees within the Graduate School and International Education review the applications to determine eligibility and make the awards. Students have been benefiting from these funds every semester since they were created.
The U of A Cares Student Emergency Fund also has an online application process via the student engagement platform, hogsync.uark.edu. The awardees are also chosen by committee.
“Current requests are being processed as they come in, and funds are being made available as soon as possible,” said Jennifer Holland, UA Director of Development Communications.
As of Wednesday afternoon, over $13,000 had been raised for students in need.
To contribute to any of the four established funds, visit fundrazor.uark.edu/emergencyfund.
