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QUEENS WEEKLY, APRIL 19, 2020
CUNY LAUNCHES EMERGENCY RELIEF
FUND TO AID STUDENTS IN NEED
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
The City University of
New York (CUNY) launched
a Chancellor’s Emergency
Relief Fund on April 8 to
help students facing financial
hardship during the
COVID-19 crisis.
With initial support
from the Carroll and Milton
Petrie Foundation and the
James and Judith K. Dimon
Foundation, the Chancellor’s
Emergency Relief Fund
will distribute grants of $500
each to thousands of CUNY
students who are coping
with the severe economic
fallout of the extraordinary
public health emergency.
“The coronavirus pandemic
is having a devastating
economic impact on
many of our students, and
this unprecedented emergency
fund will provide
rapid-response financial
support to those who need it
most,” said Chancellor Felix
V. Matos Rodriguez. “We applaud
the Petrie and Dimon
Foundations, whose generous
and swift response to
this growing crisis allowed
us to quickly establish this
critical support for our students.”
CUNY serves 275,000
degree-seeking students
whose median household
income is about $40,000 a
year; 38 percent are from
families earning less than
$20,000. Nearly half work
while in school, and many
now find their jobs and incomes
eliminated, drastically
reduced or threatened
— exacerbating financial
pressures and challenges
including food and housing
insecurity and lack of access
to health care.
The Dimon Foundation
and the Petrie Foundation
each announced initial
gifts of $1 million to establish
the Chancellor’s Emergency
Relief Fund, the first
university-wide student assistance
program of its kind
at CUNY.
The generous gifts build
on the Petrie Foundation’s
history of supporting CUNY
with both emergency aid
and innovative programming,
CUNY students will begin receiving emergency grants of $500 each the week of April 20. Photo courtesy of CUNY
and on the longstanding
relationship between
CUNY and HERE to HERE,
founded by the Dimon Foundation,
to prepare students
for future success.
“Having met many
CUNY students from all
25 campuses, I can attest
to their work ethic, persistence,
talents and dedication
to their families and
communities,” said Judy Dimon,
founder of the James
and Judith K. Dimon Foundation
and founding chair
of HERE to HERE. “They
deserve our support and
we are proud to stand with
the Petrie Foundation, and
many other funders who are
lining up to provide it.”
Cass Conrad, executive
director of The Carroll and
Milton Petrie Foundation,
said they’re honored to be
able to support the Chancellor’s
Emergency Fund during
a challenging time for
so many New Yorkers.
“Not only will this fund
provide near-term relief to
CUNY students and their
families, but we believe it
will help ensure that they
can remain in school, complete
their degrees, and ultimately
contribute to the
revival of the city,” Conrad
said. In addition to the $2
million seed money, the
Chancellor’s Emergency
Relief Fund is launching
with an additional $1.25
million in contributions
from corporate and philanthropic
donors including:
$500,000 from Robin Hood,
and $750,000 from JPMorgan
Chase, Deutsche Bank,
Goldman Sachs, The Jeffrey
H. and Shari L. Aronson
Family Foundation,
The Pinkerton Foundation,
The Solon E. Summerfield
Foundation and the Harman
Family Foundation.
Students will begin receiving
emergency grants
of $500 each the week of
April 20. The recipients will
be chosen by lottery from
a group of about 14,000 students
who have been identified
as meeting financialneed
and academic criteria.
With additional funding,
the University will seek to
deploy emergency grants to
more students in the coming
months.
The emergency fund is
the latest financial-assistance
resource CUNY is
providing to its most vulnerable
students in response to
the COVID-19 crisis. Over
the past few weeks, the University,
with support from
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, quickly
purchased 30,000 computers
and tablets to distribute
to students who need them
in order to fully participate
in distance learning and
keep up with their studies.
Additionally, about 1,600
CUNY community college
students who were issued
$400 campus cafeteria food
vouchers through a City
Council pilot will be getting
the money as a payout
they can spend anywhere
for food. And 117 foster
care students in the CUNY
Fostering College Success
Initiative will receive $425
emergency grants. The
assistance comes from a
donor wishing to remain
anonymous.
Rodriguez is inviting
other foundations, organizations
and individuals to
join them in this time of urgent
need.
“Helping CUNY students
means helping New York get
through these terribly difficult
and uncertain times
so we can all start looking
ahead with optimism,” Rodriguez
said.
To contribute to the
Chancellor’s Emergency
Relief Fund, visit: cuny.edu/
emergencyfund.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
/cuny.edu
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