Student Assistance Update: To Date, Montgomery College and Its Foundation Have Provided Over $267,000 in Assistance to Students in Need

To directly address the hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the College and the Montgomery College Foundation allocated over $550,000 to assist students. To date, Montgomery College and its Foundation have delivered 640 awards totaling $267,619, made up largely of laptops, software, and food assistance. Of that 640, 161 students received grocery gift cards amounting to $13,100.

The reallocated funds are from the cancellation of college-sponsored events, including commencement, transferred to a scholarship and grants account within the College’s operating budget. The account is used solely to assist students with tuition, fees, books, supplies and/or technology. The Foundation is also allocating restricted and unrestricted funds to provide assistance to students in need during the pandemic.

Here is a roundup of the progress so far:

• The College and Foundation have now made 640 awards to students and $267,619 in total aid between the two funds. Of that 640, 161 students received grocery e-gift cards to Target amounting to $13,100.
• Montgomery College’s Coronavirus Advisory Team packaged personal protective equipment and medical equipment—gowns, gloves, masks, face shields, bottles of hand sanitizer, and germicidal wipes. The items were donated to Montgomery County’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. More than 3,100 individual items were included, and will be distributed to local medical facilities in order of urgency.
• Dr. Mitchell Davis gave a generous $10,000 donation for emergency student assistance to the Montgomery College Foundation. Dr. Davis is a long-time supporter of scholarships at the College.
• The Montgomery College Foundation also received a generous donation of $5,000 for emergency assistance last week from Cliff and Debbie White, longtime supporters of the College.
• The CARES Act, the recent stimulus package adopted by Congress, is now providing the College some needed legal flexibility to revise federal Pell Grants for students more easily. Details about emergency funds for students will be forthcoming.
• MC’s nursing simulation library is being used nationally to help nursing students train remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information on what Montgomery College is doing for its students and any updates, visit the coronavirus website.