The North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation has announced the creation of a Hardship Fund to increase its ongoing support of NC State’s Community College Collaboration (C3) program. This grant addendum will assist students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
NC State will receive $180,000 for its Hardship Fund, with $60,000 paid annually for three years. Qualifying applicants are students who have transferred or will be transferring to NC State from one of the C3 program’s participating community colleges. The fund will be administered by the program in order to help the students complete their STEM-related undergraduate degrees.
“We understand the hardships students are experiencing, and we hope these funds will help students stay enrolled in their classes during this difficult time,” said Marilyn Foote-Hudson, executive director of the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation.
Students may be awarded up to $1,000 per year to cover “unavoidable, unexpected and time-sensitive issues that present a barrier to their academic progress,” Foote-Hudson said. Funding can be put toward tuition payments, housing needs, medical expenses, technology access, car repairs, childcare and more.
“I had roommates in a traditional apartment, not a student apartment with individual leases,” said Tristen Cullison, one of NC State’s first 12 Hardship Fund recipients and a rising senior in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “They moved home when COVID-19 canceled on-campus classes. Both left without paying their share of two months’ rent, electric and other expenses. I had disconnection notices.
“Thankfully, the eviction moratorium prevented my eviction, but I only had an extra 30 days to catch up on back rent,” Cullison added. “Money from the Hardship Fund kept food in the fridge, my water and power on and me from being homeless.”
NC State’s Hardship Fund supplements a three-year, $1,064,000 overall grant from the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation to the C3 program that began in 2019. This funding has also been extended until June 2023 in lieu of COVID-19’s ongoing effects, further demonstrating the Foundation’s commitment to the Pack.
Read the full story on NC State’s website.
Hardship Funds are also being created at North Carolina A&T State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to support their respective community college collaboration programs.