Brooklyn College Raises More Than $2.1 Million To Help Students Overcome Financial Challenges Brought On By Pandemic

June 10, 2021

A combination of donations and other financial support from various supporters was key to the students’ success.

On May 27, Brooklyn College honored the incredible strength and perseverance shown by the class of 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic with a virtual opening ceremony. But it is impossible not to acknowledge the support students have received in achieving their academic goals, as around $ 2.1 million has been raised through various channels over the course of the past year.

At the forefront of the movement to provide students with the financial aid they need was the Brooklyn College Foundation. Established in 1958, the Foundation is the engine driving ongoing annual support for student scholarships and other philanthropic priorities, and the team moved into high gear with various community partners at the start of the pandemic.

Last spring, at the start of the pandemic, the Brooklyn College Foundation set up a Student Emergency Fund to help students affected by COVID-19. Over 500 individual donors joined forces with community leaders such as the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation, the Robin Hood poverty reduction organization, and the Tow Foundation to provide critical emergency relief to college students.

To ensure students stayed on their way to graduation, the college was able to offer graduation scholarships thanks to support from trustee Carol L. Zicklin ’61, her husband Larry, and their children. The Zicklin Scholars Degree Completion Program has made scholarships available for students to take additional courses during the summer and winter prayers to aid them in completing their studies.

A Brooklyn College Family Affair

Evan Silverstein is a graduate of the 1976 class and chairman of the board of trustees of the Brooklyn College Foundation. Silverstein was one of the earliest donors to the Student Emergency Fund and is one of the fund’s primary supporters. He is particularly proud of the commitment shown by Brooklyn College students during the COVID-19 pandemic. He believes that while much has been done to help, the board knows that its work continues.

“The talent that Brooklyn College students bring to the area needs to thrive, and we will continue to be dedicated to providing this vital support during these difficult times,” said Silverstein. “Our students face unique challenges, but the COVID-19 pandemic has added other barriers that have forced us to take our mission to another level. We are proud of the work we do for the students and the community as Brooklyn College continues to act as an anchor institution for the advancement of New York City. “

Brooklyn College’s philanthropic endeavors have felt like a family affair to many. In fact, Silverstein reconnected his good friend and classmate Michael Rabinowitz ’81 to college more than a decade ago. Since then, Rabinowitz has been a regular donor and in 2018 he set up a scholarship fund on his behalf for a cohort of five students who are to be supported over four years. He recently hosted a Zoom event with this cohort – one of whom is now interning with his company – and looks forward to hearing from you again soon. As he plans to start another scholarship program, Rabinowitz knows that offering different forms of support has never been more important than it is now.

“I think it’s important to get in contact with students,” said Rabinowitz. “It’s not always about how much you can give financially, but how much time you can invest to influence student lives and their futures.”

Florence Cohen Rosen ’59 graduated at a time when classes at Brooklyn College were still free. To pass on this educational gift, she founded the Rosen Fellowship program in 2011. This hugely successful and impactful project-based program – often including travel – provides students with worldly experiences that would normally not be enjoyed until later in their careers. However, when the pandemic made extensive travel impossible, she supported the students with generous gifts. This allowed many to achieve their ultimate goal of graduation and the opportunity for others to enroll in the courses they needed to graduate.

“I’m very passionate about the Rosen Scholarship, but when it became clear that travel was unsafe during the pandemic, I felt it was important to offer immediate help as the students worked toward their degrees and career goals,” said Rosen.

Supporting the most vulnerable students

The college’s Immigrant Student Success Office (ISSO), which supports Brooklyn College immigrant students, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) who identify with the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAMERS), and students of the first Generation also played a big role in supporting the students during this difficult time. With the help of the Brooklyn College Foundation, the ISSO was able to secure two aid grants from the poverty reduction organization Robin Hood in July 2020 and February 2021. The first grant provided emergency aid to 300 students with a migration background. The second provided financial assistance to an additional 160 students who have lost a low-wage job or have other COVID-19-related emergency expenses such as food, housing and technology for distance learning. The ISSO also worked with the Hispanic Federation and the City University of New York (CUNY) to pay the DACA application fees for 20 students.

The ISSO itself would not have been possible without the financial backing of Brooklyn College Foundation board member and alumnus Irwin Federman ’56 and his wife Concepción, whose donation helped found the office in 2019 and who have continued their leadership support ever since the burden immigrant students at a time when they are needed more than ever.

“This pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on minority students and the majority of our undocumented, DACAmented and first-generation immigrant students,” said Jesús Pérez, Director of ISSO. “Working with Robin Hood and others has given us another level of support.”

The talent that Brooklyn College students bring to the area needs to thrive, and we continue to strive to provide this vital support during these toughest times. Our students face unique challenges, but the COVID-19 pandemic has added barriers that have forced us to take our mission to another level. We take pride in the work we do for the students and the community as Brooklyn College will continue to serve as the anchor institution for New York City.

– Evan Silverstein ’76, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn College Foundation

The help wasn’t just financial. For food insecure students, the Brooklyn College Food Pantry, funded by the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation, also played an immensely important role during the pandemic. Using safe distribution techniques approved by the city and state, the pantry has been able to safely serve 492 students as of March 2020. 29 appointments were planned for April of this year. The pantry is open every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., including during the spring break and summer.

To help students achieve their career goals during this difficult time, the college’s Magner Career Center was able to raise money from alumni to pay student scholarships for unpaid internships and similar opportunities.

“Scholarship awards help current students take advantage of unpaid off-campus opportunities related to their careers, which can include internships, volunteering, off-campus research, and student teaching,” said Natalia Guarin-Klein, director of Magner. “These were competitive and approximately 30% of the students selected received these awards. They really couldn’t have come at a better time and we were thrilled to be helping through this program.”

Brooklyn College students also joined efforts to help their classmates. Brooklyn College’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) has sought to raise $ 40,000 in emergency relief grants. Aharon Grama, chief of staff for the undergraduate student government, stated that the effort was to encourage students to donate their student activity fees, which went into two separate funds: one for a $ 20,000 grant to a project at Brooklyn College and another $ 20,000 – Dollars for a University Student Senate (USS) CUNY Business Program. While all funds raised went to deserving students at Brooklyn College, the USG has partnered with the USS to help with the logistics of examining applications and other related tasks.

“We wanted to help as many Brooklyn College students as possible, so it made sense to work with the USS to help more students,” said Grama. “There was a lot of planning and work to do so it was great that we could do it.”

This press release was produced by the City University of New York: Brooklyn College. The views expressed are the author’s own views.

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/brooklyn-college-raises-more-than-2-1-million-to-help-students-overcome-financial-challenges-brought-on-by-pandemic/