BOSTON, June 14, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) Foundation raised more than $400,000 to endow the newly named the Mary L. Fifield Endowed Student Emergency Assistance Fund. The fund provides immediate assistance to BHCC students who experience an emergency. Fifield retires from the College June 30 after more than 16 years of service as President.
An annual fundraising event held on May 1 by the BHCC Foundation raised $208,000. The Foundation matched the sum for a total of $416,000.
The fund was re-named for BHCC President Mary L. Fifield, who established the fund in 2009 to provide grants to students facing an immediate financial crisis - such as a lost or stolen laptop, a medical emergency or a car accident. Students who document a need may receive up to $1,000 to help them get back on their feet and stay in school.
In fiscal year 2012, the fund assisted 147 students and disbursed more than $100,000. The average grant was about $700. The retention rate for BHCC students receiving assistance through the fund is 31 percent higher than the student population as a whole.
"We know that students who have received help from the fund are far more likely than other students to stay in College and finish their education," said Foundation President Stephen Weiner. "The fund works. It really helps students. Endowing it will ensure that we can continue to make this invaluable assistance available to those who need it."
Media Contact:
Karen M. Norton, Executive Director of Integrated Marketing and Communications
Bunker Hill Community College, Boston, MA 02129
Phone: (617) 228-2177; Email: kmnorton@bhcc.mass.edu
Bunker Hill Community College is the largest community college in Massachusetts. The College enrolls more than 14,000 students on two campuses and at three satellite locations. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Sixty-seven percent of the students are people of color and more than half of BHCC's students are women. The College also enrolls more than 800 international students who come from approximately 100 countries and speak more than 75 languages.
SOURCEBunker Hill Community College
