“To some it may seem like a little, to me it was an anchor that stabilised me through a period of great uncertainty.”
The Student Crisis Support Fund was launched as part of the wider COVID-19 Emergency Response Campaign to address the immediate needs faced by our student community. So far, the Fund has supported more than 200 students who faced significant unexpected financial hardship as a result of the pandemic.
With the loss of part-time jobs and internships, increased costs associated with home-learning and additional caring responsibilities for family members affected by the virus, the University has seen a huge increase in students facing financial hardship through no fault of their own. The Student Crisis Support Fund has been a much-needed lifeline to students during this difficult time.
The Fund has provided support to students when they were at their most vulnerable; offering a helping hand to students struggling to cover rent costs, and helping students to buy essentials as well as equipment in order for them to continue their studies remotely. The Fund has also allowed some students to travel home to their loved ones, when they were stuck in empty halls of residence over the summer.
It is thanks to our global alumni and supporter community that we can continue to provide this essential support to our most vulnerable students. To date more than £197,000 has been raised to ensure no student is left behind. A final year student told us how receiving the Student Crisis Support Fund has helped her overcome some of the struggles of COVID-19:
“I do not ask for help often, I like to work and earn my keep, but the crisis threw me into an unprecedented situation. To put it quite bluntly, I was on the verge of becoming homeless when the fund came. I could not concentrate on my studies and was anxious every time my doorbell rang. This fund presented a much-needed respite not just financially, but mentally as well. I paid my rent, bought some decent food and was able to concentrate on my studies.
The morning before I got my first response from the crisis support team, I woke up, could not leave my bed and cried when I checked my emails and I had no response from the jobs I had applied for. I prayed for something, anything! then I got a response from the support team. To some it may seem like a little, to me it was an anchor that stabilised me through a period of great uncertainty. I cannot emphasise how much it helped me. Thank you very much to the donors and everyone else involved in the support process.”
With the start of the new academic term and increased lockdown restrictions around the UK, our student community continues to experience the devastating effects of this virus. It is expected the pandemic will continue to affect our students indefinitely and will likely worsen in the next months. Our priority is and will continue to be to provide this essential support to every student who needs it.
If you would like to help to provide this continuing support for our students through the COVID-19 Student Crisis Support Fund please find out more here.