As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy becomes increasingly felt by more and more individuals and families, the reality of the growing needs within our own Detroit Mercy community cannot be ignored. While the institution continues to do all it can to make decisions attentive to the needs of those of us who work to deliver quality education to our students, the reality is that fiscal pressures continue to mount not only on the university but our families.
We have heard throughout this crisis that we are all in this together. While the pandemic may be making this more clear for many of us, our mission has always invited us to enter into solidarity, especially with the most vulnerable among us. In these days, this includes colleagues at the institution who have been hit hard by the consequences of the pandemic. Solidarity is an invitation to share one another’s burdens.
In the spirit of community and solidarity, a number of us at the institution have come together to establish an Employee Emergency Fund. The fund is intended to offer modest grants to all employees of the university, including custodial, food service and bookstore employees.
See the Employee Emergency Fund page for more information and to apply for assistance.
The creation of this emergency fund was done with the encouragement of many of you and with the support of university leadership. Its success will depend on all of us, on our generosity and desire to enter into solidarity with one another, that is, to share one another’s burdens during these uncertain times.
Some of us are in households where our livelihood has not been affected by the pandemic and yet benefited from the federal stimulus. If this is true for you, might you consider contributing part of your stimulus check to this fund? Others of us have become more aware of how fortunate we are and just desire to share what we have. Might you consider a donation to this fund as just one of many ways to express your gratitude for your circumstances? Others of us may just be aware that we have colleagues, members of our university community, whose circumstances were challenging even before this pandemic and find ourselves wanting to express our concern. Please consider contributing to this fund as one way of expressing you care.
Contribute to the fund on the web page above or through the donation page.
On behalf of all those who worked to launch this fund and those who will be helped by it, thank you for helping support the University of Detroit Mercy Employee Emergency Fund.