Buffalo, NY - In response to the Covid-19 crisis, Canisius launched a six-week campaign on April 22 to raise emergency funds for students experiencing extreme financial hardship. The outpouring of generosity from the college family proved truly remarkable, as alumni, friends, parents, staff and members of the Board of Trustees rallied together to raise $171,650.
“The funds raised assisted students who were struggling to cover sudden and unexpected costs related to housing, travel home, access to technology, health and wellness, and other emergency expenditures,” explains Marya J. Propis ’91, a Board of Trustees member and chair of the Emergency Relief Fund campaign.
Gustavo Dos Santos ’17, MS ’20 was among the 100-plus students to benefit from the Emergency Relief Fund. He encountered financial hardship when funding was cut for the internship program in which he participated.
“I was able to keep my internship position but I was no longer getting paid and worried about how I would cover the cost of my health insurance,” recalls Dos Santos.
Support from the Emergency Relief Fund provided the necessary aid. Since then, Dos Santos completed his internship, uninterrupted; graduated on time with his master’s degree; and found full-time work as an academic advisor within the School of Architecture at Syracuse University.
“To see how quickly and abundantly the Canisius community came to the aid of our students makes me incredibly proud to call Canisius home,” concludes Propis.
CARES ACT
In addition to the Emergency Relief Fund, Canisius received $1,167,415 for student emergency relief through the CARES Act. Passed by Congress in March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided immediate support to Americans impacted by Covid-19.
Canisius used 100 percent of its CARES Act funding to assist 1,289 students with emergency financial aid grants to help cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.
