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$1.8M gift to help low-income, first-generation students at seven UH community colleges

The Stupski Foundation has provided a total of $1.8 million to support low-income and first-generation students attending the University of Hawaii, particularly one of the seven UH community colleges that include the Maui campus.

The gifts will cover costs over five academic years through spring 2027 and will be used to fund initiatives to help students navigate the financial aid process, as well as connect to basic services and resources such as housing and food, according to a UH news release Wednesday.

“We believe that college education should be affordable and accessible to all low-income and first-generation students, especially for those who struggle with basic needs such as food and housing,” said Cheri Souza of the Stupski Foundation. “We recognize this support is critical to their persistence to stay in school and graduate, and their overall health and well-being.”

A survey conducted during the 2020-21 academic year found that two out of five UH students had experienced hunger in the prior 30 days. A recent study also found that more than one in three students don’t have enough to eat, a problem only made worse by recent high inflation. In addition, college students who under pandemic boosts were able to buy food with the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, will lose their benefits in March.

Two years ago, the UH Basic Student Needs Committee launched a website at hawaii.edu/student-ba

sic-needs/ to assist students in finding food, child care, transportation, mental health services, financial aid and other needs.

One of the initiatives that the Stupski Foundation donation will support is the creation of the first-ever systemwide UH Financial Assistance and Basic Needs Virtual Cafe to connect UH students to all basic needs and resources. The initiative includes piloting a test of financial literacy programs within the virtual cafe, which launched at UH-Manoa and Windward Community College and will roll out to the other eight campuses this year.

The funds will also go toward the revision of current policies and creation of a strategic financial aid system to remove financial barriers for UH community college students. The goal is to help students complete financial aid applications and to establish a new strategy for awarding financial aid at the seven community college campuses.

The Stupski Foundation was also among the supporters who together gave more than $1 million in early 2020 to help UH students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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