She was worried about “messing up” on a quiz.
I was worried because this young woman – my student – was without a home.
She’d been living at a friend’s moms house and sleeping on the floor. For this young woman, going back to her family was just not an option.
TAUP’s FAST Fund (Faculty and Students Together) provided $500. We’ve helped almost 200 students. FAST Funds were created to offer quick financial relief from incidents that might keep undergraduate students from continuing their studies and completing their degrees. We typically provide funds to students within a couple of days of applying.
With the FAST Fund, I was able to give my student a few more days of temporary housing and some hope of completing the semester with a roof over her head.
Of course, all of this was before the pandemic turned our lives upside down. Now, we know students are hurting even more. We get a glimpse into their lives when connecting on Zoom. We get the anxious emails from students in quarantine and hear stories of their roommates who are sick.
Normally, I would be asking you to refer students to the FAST Fund, but right now our funds are completely depleted, and so we don’t want to offer students a false promise. As soon as we replenish the FAST fund, we will let our members know so that you can send their students our way.
TAUP administers one of 18 FAST Funds across the country, funded by Believe in Students, a 501 (c) (3) founded by TAUP member and Professor of Sociology and Medicine Sara Goldrick-Rab.
If you are able to help us, please consider a donation. The easiest way is to donate online, and please specify that you want your donation to go to TAUP’s Fast Fund.
All funds collected are used exclusively for this purpose and are tax deductible.
Even a small contribution could make all the difference in the world to a student who is struggling to afford food, housing or transportation.
Your contribution may prevent that student from giving up on a college education.
For more information, visit taup.org/fast-fund
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