A generous grant from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation (FCCF) will provide Norwalk Community College (NCC) students disparately impacted by COVID-19 with emergency financial assistance for technology, food and basic needs. The NCC Foundation’s goal is to help students whose lives have been disrupted by the crisis stay in school and graduate.
When NCC’s campus closed in March, vulnerable students were cut off from vital services at NCC such as the computer lab, food pantry, counselors, coaches, advisors and tutors. Aid provided through the NCC Foundation’s Student Emergency Fund is keeping students connected to NCC and continuing their studies while the campus remains closed and classes online. Plans to reopen NCC’s campus are still in progress.
To date, the NCC Foundation has delivered laptops to 208 students who lacked adequate access to a computer in their home, and 343 grocery store gift cards to food insecure students (NCC was one of the first colleges in Connecticut to address food insecurity on campus by making an on-site food pantry). The Foundation is working closely with the NCC administration to assist students who responded to a survey indicating their areas of greatest need. In the coming weeks and months, our assistance may be food, payment of essential bills, or connection to mental health treatment.
For those who wish to help Norwalk Community College students achieve their academic and professional goals, a gift to the NCC Foundation can be made by visiting https://ncc-foundation.org/donate, calling (203) 497-3898, or e-mailing nccfoundation@norwalk.edu.