Following the devastating of Hurricane Harvey, the Texas higher education community has reportedly come together to launch a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to raise funds for nearly 500,000 college students that were affected by the storm’s damages. The new initiative, HELP, which stands for Higher Education Learning Pathways, will provide emergency funds to enable students in southeast Texas to stay on or more quickly return to their education.
While sharing details about HELP, Dr. Richard Rhodes, President of Austin Community College, stated:
“The storm has disrupted hundreds of thousands of students’ lives, most of whom were just about to start the new school year. We all know students, neighbors, and fellow Texans who are now displaced from their homes, employment, schools, and are even coping with the loss of loved ones. Like volunteers and citizens across this country, we were determined not to just stand by, but to take action. We formed Harvey HELP to pool the collective strength, resources, and passion of higher education to enable and streamline community support for these students. We want to make sure the students have what they need to overcome these challenges and return to the classroom.”
Dr. Mark Milliron, Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer of Civitas Learning, one of the corporations stepping up to donate, also commented:
“This is an opportunity for anyone, within the higher education community or beyond, within Texas or beyond, to make a real difference. With Harvey HELP, everybody who believes deeply in the power of education to change lives has a simple way to get involved and help the tens of thousands of students who were planning on attending Texas colleges this Fall and are now grappling with much more pressing challenges than getting to class, including finding food, shelter, transportation, child care, health care, and more.”
It was also revealed to ensure that all of Harvey HELP’s funds are used in a way that best benefits students, Harvey HELP’s steering committee of non-profit and institutional leaders will evaluate applications from colleges and universities. Approved institutions will receive Harvey HELP’s funds to support aid programs, respond to their students’ specific needs, and help with students’ school expenses – such as tuition and textbooks – as well as personal expenses like transportation, rent, and groceries.
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