Help Baruch Students Get $25,000 by June 15
June 10, 2020
Editor’s note: I normally do not circulate requests for donations, but when a related request for assistance to students started circulating a couple of months ago, so many faculty colleagues asked me how they could contribute that I now feel impelled to circulate this one. Apologies to anyone troubled by this outreach. DS
| “The Counseling Center gave me the tools to process my traumas. I could not have survived this semester or Covid-19, without their help.” –Jenny, Class of 2022
Dear Friend,
At Baruch, the greatest barriers to staying in school and graduating have always been centered on economic issues. Even before Covid-19, as you know, many of our students were facing family income problems, loss of a part-time job, food and housing insecurity, and overwhelming family responsibilities that often conflicted with their academic needs.
Students who sought professional assistance at the Baruch Counseling Center, reported that economic anxiety, stress, and resulting depression were the main reasons for seeking help that would enable them to remain in school. Many of these students, including Jenny, hid the fact that they had sought counseling because of the stigma their families and friends would attach to them.
Once the pandemic hit these communities, and they were the hardest hit demographic in New York City, the Counseling Center saw an exponential rise in students seeking emergency assistance—and the Center was overwhelmed. Not only were our students facing greater economic insecurity than ever before, but they now were forced to deal with the loss of family members. Frankly, we were unprepared to meet the need.
At the same time as the need for counseling services was under tremendous stress, our staff funding from private grants was ending—the perfect storm. This is where WE come in, you and me, and the story takes a turn for the better, provided we meet the challenge. We have just received a $25,000 challenge grant from the GS Humane Corporation and you and I must meet that challenge.
In order to ensure that we can continue uninterrupted to provide individual counseling services and support group assistance for Covid bereavement, we have to get the job done by June 15. To start our effort to prevent any disruption in our counseling services, I am pledging $500. Join me at whatever level you can, not only to meet this matching grant but to do even more.
With our support, Jenny and students like her will meet these unprecedented personal challenges and join us as Baruch alums—who will know, firsthand, the meaning of paying it forward. Do it today!
Always proud, Jay Berman ’59 Trustee, Baruch College Fund Chairman, Development Committee Help us meet the $25K challenge grant by June 15. Your donation is doubled by GS Humane Corp. Baruch College Fund | One Bernard Baruch Way, Box A-1603 | New York, NY 10010
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