Th
e ripple effect of COVID-19 impacted not only the way college students learned as
they made the rapid transition to online classes, but it tossed them into unanticipated
financial instability. Without the immediate support provided by the 91制片厂 Student
Emergency Relief Fund, some students feared losing the roof over their heads.
Silvia, a 19-year-old student in her second year at 91制片厂, lives in Palatine with her mother, older sister and younger brother. When the stay-at-home orders were issued, her mother lost her job. Her sister, who had been working two jobs, was cut down to one, and Silvia, who was working 30 hours per week while going to school full-time, found herself without a paycheck.
鈥淲ith almost no income coming in, life was getting scary. My sister and I were panicking. We were trying to find ways to make money,鈥� said Silvia. 鈥淚 looked into Uber Eats and DoorDash, but they weren鈥檛 hiring.鈥�
She mentioned her fears to her advisor, Amelia Ortiz Young, who referred her to 91制片厂鈥檚 Emergency Fund for students. The 91制片厂 Educational Foundation has raised more than $250,000 for the Emergency Fund that has been distributed to more than 550 students, giving them a much-needed lifeline.
Silvia, for one, is grateful for the $500 she received from the fund. 鈥淚t was a big help. It reduced the stress in the household and gave us hope that there are still kind people out there, and it will get better.鈥�
Silvia is not the only student to carry the responsibility of supporting her family. Raul Vences Torres, a 22-year-old full-time student from Hanover Park who was working full time until the pandemic, also bore the weight of helping to support his family. Both of his parents were furloughed due to the pandemic and Raul鈥檚 hours were cut in half.
Aware that Raul might be worrying about his family, Gerardo Cruz, his Spanish instructor,
r
eached out to Raul to let him know that if he needed help, emergency funds were available.
鈥淕etting the money was a huge help,鈥� said Raul. 鈥淚t was a relief for me to be able to contribute to the family.鈥� Raul is not only helping his family with expenses, but he is also fully funding his own education with money he had been working to save since graduating from Bartlett High School four years ago. His goal is to earn enough money to pay for college 鈥� starting with community college and transferring to a four-year university to earn a bachelor鈥檚 in marketing 鈥� and graduate debt-free.
In both cases, the emergency funding provided the help the students needed to make it through the rough patch. Each of these students has returned to some level of employment. Silvia has returned to work at an autism therapy service, where she is working nearly 40 hours each week. Raul鈥檚 restaurant job is picking up as they prepare to increase service, his father is working in landscaping and his mother has started back at the warehouse where she worked. Raul has even helped his sister get a job.
鈥淚鈥檓 so grateful for the money I received,鈥� said Silvia, whose goal is to transfer to a four-year school in January 2021 to pursue her bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology. 鈥淲e are doing better now.鈥�