Community college students are not all fresh from high school. They can be parents who want or need classes for their jobs or careers. Or even adults looking for training to attain certification, or lifelong learners.
Good Samaritan California Community College Foundations are Helping Low-Income Students
CalMatters.Org says those who aren’t full-time students are cut off from a variety of kinds of federal aid. Accordingly, community colleges and their foundations are stepping up to assist students who have been affected by the pandemic. Especially those who are undocumented or bring in low incomes.
The good news in order to answer the need of students suddenly put out of their classrooms and who may have lost jobs, the Cuesta College Foundation will be granting out $250,000.
The amount is more than double its usual annual aid of $90,000-$100,000, according to executive director Shannon Hill. In April, $35,000 was approved to give $1,000 in emergency assistance to students, with the possibility of getting $500 more.
California focused on undocumented students
Undocumented students are a priority since they are not permitted to obtain any of the $14 billion in CARES Act stimulus funds. There are 454,000 undocumented college students in the US, with over 90,000 in California, according to an estimate.
An example of the target student for the foundation grants, an undocumented immigrant from Cameroon. She works part-time as a home-care aide, attends college full-time, and has a school-aged child.
While she does not qualify for federal student aid, California has waived her tuition and provides other grants, including $3,000 a semester because she is a student with a young child. She is now receiving the delivered meals and access to the food pantry. She’s saving a couple of hundred dollars a month.
Moreover, the foundations have stepped up, and now the donors need to understand that fewer restrictions on gifts would go a long way in a crisis.
