For many first-generation, lower-income students who were already facing obstacles to get to college, the road has become even more complicated. As we begin to regain our normalcy, the pandemic and school closures for 19+ months have taken a severe toll on our educational systems and, most importantly, on our youth. The path to our students’ goals is more challenging than ever and is now riddled with circuitous turns and unexpected detours.
There is much to be done to help students regain all that they lost during school closures and the ongoing pandemic. Will you help us clear the obstacles on the road to achieving their dreams of becoming college grads?
As our strongest educational allies, our Board of Directors has assembled a matching challenge. Before December 31, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $150,000!
Even before COVID-19, lower-income and first-generation students faced major barriers to getting into and completing college due to poorly resourced schools and communities. The pandemic intensified these obstacles. In addition to our students disproportionately losing loved ones, their families were at the highest risk of losing employment. Those without a college degree became unemployed at twice the rate of those with one. Students face greater pressures than ever before to forgo a college education and immediately enter the workforce.
Now more than ever, students need adults, advocates, educators, and counselors to support them through these challenges, to listen and reassure them that their dreams are not deferred, but instead waiting to be realized. Fulfillment Fund has adjusted our programs to meet these realities head-on and continues to provide meaningful strategic guidance to our amazing students and their families.
