Aggie Alumni Give to Support Students During Coronavirus Crisis

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (April 1, 2020) – As universities shutter campus doors across the nation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Aggies are opening their hearts and their wallets to help current students meet basic needs. 

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University launched an emergency fund to help students purchase food and toiletries, storage units, technology-related items and cover travel expenses.

One alumna even started a grassroots campaign after noticing current students were sharing financial challenges on social media.

“Some of them do not have proper resources to maintain their livelihood and educational obligations because they depended on what the university provided,” said Ashley Jones, a 2019 journalism and mass communications graduate. “They need help with rent, groceries and laptops, and I felt this was the least I could do to help a few students get by during this time.” 

She initially set aside money from her personal budget to help some students secure gently-used laptops from Facebook Marketplace and local pawn shops. Once the news spread and the requests increased, Jones created an application form and rallied her network using the Cash App tag $educationoverrona to collect donations.

To date, approximately 50 donors have answered Jones’ call, giving more than $1,000 to help students in need. 

“Even though we have been cautioned to practice social distancing, we should be actively emphasizing and embodying the idea of community and support,” said Jones.