Detroit Mercy has created the COVID-19 Student Emergency Fund, a crowdfunding effort that provides emergency funding to students impacted by the coronavirus.
This fund will offer necessary financial support to students and ensures their safety and health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the outbreak of the virus earlier this year, Detroit Mercy has joined hundreds of institutions of higher education throughout the country in transitioning to online course delivery and in developing systems to support faculty, staff, students and community members impacted by the pandemic. This includes efforts to help students with food insecurities receive assistance through The HIVE, a student-run food pantry on the McNichols Campus.
However, more support is needed. Many students would like to return home to their families but cannot afford to do so. Others do not have access to the technology required to attend online classes. More importantly, a significant number of students have lost their jobs and thus their income, which makes it impossible to pay rent, utilities, medical bills and other costs of living.
Judy Wernette, director of Annual Giving and Advancement Systems at Detroit Mercy, believes this fund can significantly reduce the heartache and burden on students, and allow them to re-focus on their classes during this historic pandemic.
“I know that our Detroit Mercy family can come together to help our students when they may need it most,” she said.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Detroit Mercy seeks donors who can help support students at this critical time in their education with financial donations. For more information and to make a donation, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/EmergencyFund today. Additionally, please consider sharing this information on your personal social media pages.
To see other steps the University has taken to keep students, staff and faculty safe during this time, please see our coronavirus response page: udmercy.edu/life/health/health-advisory.php.
