Lifting Others Up
Sometimes it feels like a miracle when a student receives the help they needed to complete their goals. And often, those miracles seem so small but have the largest impact. We work with students every day and see their greatest needs, which means our funding priorities are directly related to student achievement.
The Promise Program guarantees tuition and course materials funding for balances due after financial aid is exhausted. The “Promise” to students, many of whom are the first in their family to attend college, is that they have the financial commitment to continue and achieve their educational goals.
Simply put, without you, hundreds of students at San Jac would not be able to go to college or receive workforce training. Scholarships are awarded each fall and spring semester to help students pay for tuition and course-related books and supplies. College can be daunting without the added stress of wondering how to pay for college. Scholarships allow students to reach their goals without worrying about debt.
In 2016, U.S. college students reported experiencing food insecurity in the past 30 days. Of those students, 55% reported that hunger and housing problems caused them to not buy a required textbook; 53% reported missing a class, and 25% reported dropping a class. Food insecurity disproportionately affects students of color and first-generation college students the most. At San Jac, we see about 490 students visit our food pantry each semester and disperse roughly 105,511 pounds of food (Sept.-Dec. 2020).
Students deal with real-life issues of family, health, hunger and transportation – on top of dealing with homework, studying and classroom time. Sometimes a single obstacle can make or break a student’s ability to stay in school. Each year, we help more than 800 students with emergency funding, so they are able to achieve their goals. In 2020, we dispersed $290,000 from donors directly to students to lighten their load– if even for a day.