Students ofColor Graduation Support
We Are the Graduates of Color from Hampshire College and as eager graduates to be, we are asking for the financial assistance to bring our families and friends to celebrate our accomplishments.
In order to afford our families’ travel, lodging and dinner expenses, we are asking for the financial support of $2,00. The breakdown of the funding requests is as follows: we are requesting $1,500 to cover travel expenses and $500 to host a post-graduation dinner celebration.
As first generation, low income students of color, we are the first college graduates from our families. Historically, college campuses have not been welcoming to low income families of color; our enrollment at Hampshire allowed our families an opportunity to engage with our college education processes. However, many of them weren’t able to engage in dropping us off to college, or visiting during meaningful college events due to financial circumstances. Our upcoming graduation is a milestone and as such, is a pivotal moment for our families to celebrate our personal and academic growth after our four year college stay.
Bringing our families to Hampshire by financially supporting their travel will only suffice if we are able to have a post-graduation dinner that truly celebrates our momentous achievement. It is critical to support a post graduation dinner celebration for the many families who cannot afford it. As James Baldwin scholars and transfer students from historically looted communities, we are asking for support for our upcoming graduation by contributing financially to our families and friends attendance at the 2016 Hampshire College Commencement.
We are requesting travel reimbursement for the flights, cars, and bus tickets that have been booked. Our overall travel expense is $3,450, however, we are only requesting aiming for a 1,500 in travel reimbursement and $500 for dinner. We hope you will honor and respect the significance of this moment for our families, thank very much for your support with much love and gratitude. Anything helps from even a small contribution of $5, 10, 20 because each small donation makes a big difference.
Yours truly,
2016 Hampshire College Graduates of Color