FGLI UMass Student Donations
Donation protected
Mission Statement:
We are reaching out to collect donations for students facing housing insecurity, food insecurity, and/or for those facing other forms of financial instability. Given we do not know how long this quarantine will last, we seek to provide financial support to UMass students in-need, including but not limited to students who are displaced and do not have access to safe or affordable housing, those who lack access to consistent meal security, those who have lost their source of income, or those who lack the materials and technology necessary for class completion.
About the organizers:
Timothy Scalona is a first-generation, low-income, and previously homeless senior at UMass Amherst. Alpha Chi Rho UMass and the First Generation Low Income Student Partnership are looking to collect donations for students in-need. This is not an official university donation drive, but this is a campaign created by and for low-income or otherwise financially insecure students.
History & Goals:
The University of Massachusetts Amherst announced that students, following 4/13, would need to vacate campus due to COVID-19 barring they were determined to be essential employees or were facing extenuating circumstances. Due to this transition, students may not have stable access to food or housing. At the same time, students may be forced to return to housing that is not safe and they may not have the necessary technology for some courses. Additionally, many students have lost stable income as they are no longer able to work their campus jobs. While the university will provide temporary income for certain campus jobs, we recognize that many students will be left without consistent financial support for the remainder of the semester and beyond.
Our goal with this campaign is to provide immediate support for high-need, at-risk students. We fully recognize the scrutiny placed on the organizers of this campaign as RSO leaders rather than paid employees of the University. However, we believe that need-based, community-driven relief is of utmost importance at this time.
Donation system:
We want to offer aid to as many students that request the support as-needed, within our funding limitations. We are attaching a google form for students to request support. There will be tiered based need criteria for students to self ascribe what level of support they may need. We will be donating the funds to students on a biweekly basis, using the amount of received donations and need to assess changes to the distribution schedule. We are using the following need categories:
Level 3 - Students at this level need immediate financial assistance with the hope of receiving steady, long-term support. These students may face housing insecurity and food-insecurity.
We plan to use 50% of the total donations to support students who express a level 3 need, allocated equally.
Level 2- Students at this level are worried about their future financial stability, and know that they need immediate financial assistance as recently unemployed, low-income students. We plan to use 30% of the donations to support students at a level 2 need, allocated equally among all respective students.
Level 1 - Students at this level expressed the need for short-term relief to pay recurring bills, grocery costs, or other short term financial costs for the next few months. We plan to use 20% of the total donations to support students who express a level 1 need, allocated equally.
Timeline:
We plan for this campaign to occur over a long period of time, so we are not releasing any official dispersion information beyond 5/1 until we can account for the total collected donations.
4/1 - Campaign Begins
4/15 - First funding dispersion
4/29 - Second Funding dispersion
5/1 - Timeline Update
We are reaching out to collect donations for students facing housing insecurity, food insecurity, and/or for those facing other forms of financial instability. Given we do not know how long this quarantine will last, we seek to provide financial support to UMass students in-need, including but not limited to students who are displaced and do not have access to safe or affordable housing, those who lack access to consistent meal security, those who have lost their source of income, or those who lack the materials and technology necessary for class completion.
About the organizers:
Timothy Scalona is a first-generation, low-income, and previously homeless senior at UMass Amherst. Alpha Chi Rho UMass and the First Generation Low Income Student Partnership are looking to collect donations for students in-need. This is not an official university donation drive, but this is a campaign created by and for low-income or otherwise financially insecure students.
History & Goals:
The University of Massachusetts Amherst announced that students, following 4/13, would need to vacate campus due to COVID-19 barring they were determined to be essential employees or were facing extenuating circumstances. Due to this transition, students may not have stable access to food or housing. At the same time, students may be forced to return to housing that is not safe and they may not have the necessary technology for some courses. Additionally, many students have lost stable income as they are no longer able to work their campus jobs. While the university will provide temporary income for certain campus jobs, we recognize that many students will be left without consistent financial support for the remainder of the semester and beyond.
Our goal with this campaign is to provide immediate support for high-need, at-risk students. We fully recognize the scrutiny placed on the organizers of this campaign as RSO leaders rather than paid employees of the University. However, we believe that need-based, community-driven relief is of utmost importance at this time.
Donation system:
We want to offer aid to as many students that request the support as-needed, within our funding limitations. We are attaching a google form for students to request support. There will be tiered based need criteria for students to self ascribe what level of support they may need. We will be donating the funds to students on a biweekly basis, using the amount of received donations and need to assess changes to the distribution schedule. We are using the following need categories:
Level 3 - Students at this level need immediate financial assistance with the hope of receiving steady, long-term support. These students may face housing insecurity and food-insecurity.
We plan to use 50% of the total donations to support students who express a level 3 need, allocated equally.
Level 2- Students at this level are worried about their future financial stability, and know that they need immediate financial assistance as recently unemployed, low-income students. We plan to use 30% of the donations to support students at a level 2 need, allocated equally among all respective students.
Level 1 - Students at this level expressed the need for short-term relief to pay recurring bills, grocery costs, or other short term financial costs for the next few months. We plan to use 20% of the total donations to support students who express a level 1 need, allocated equally.
Timeline:
We plan for this campaign to occur over a long period of time, so we are not releasing any official dispersion information beyond 5/1 until we can account for the total collected donations.
4/1 - Campaign Begins
4/15 - First funding dispersion
4/29 - Second Funding dispersion
5/1 - Timeline Update
Organizer
Tim Scalona
Organizer
Amherst, MA
