During the past two months, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic from the Brock community has been overwhelming. We have forged partnerships, donated personal protective equipment to frontline workers, and have continued to support students through these challenging times. 

Students have been unexpectedly impacted in many ways from losing their jobs to struggling to make lease and rent payments, and all with the added anxiety and stress of finishing up their semesters entirely online.

Fourth-year Recreation and Leisure Studies student Nicholas Kathen was set to graduate this spring, but due to COVID-19, his internship was cancelled until the foreseeable future. Fortunately, his professors at Brock were accommodating and gave him several options so that he was still able to complete his studies in time to graduate.

Like most, he is looking forward to seeing his friends and family and giving them all a warm embrace once this is over.

“I’m really looking forward to returning to campus even though I don’t know what that might look like,” he said. “I want to thank Brock for everything it gave to me. I didn’t know what a great experience I had until it was gone. I just realized I will never get the opportunity to go back as a student.”

Hundreds of students have applied for the newly created COVID-19 Undergraduate Student Emergency Bursary and the COVID-19 Graduate Student Emergency Bursary.  These funds provide emergency financial relief for students and were initially established with funding from the Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice-President, Research and both the Brock University Students’ Union and the Graduate Students’ Association.

Whether domestic or international, graduate and undergraduate students can apply for the Emergency Bursaries, with the primary need to support living expenses, food and housing, along with compensating for job loss. Additionally, Student Accounts and Financial Aid worked tirelessly to leverage the Emergency Bursaries and other available student supports to fulfill more than 500 fund requests from students.

More than $35,000 has been raised from alumni, faculty and staff and members of the Board of Trustees.  The University is immensely grateful to those who have supported this initiative, and while the funds raised have made a difference for some students, the need is still great.

Tuesday, May 5 marks a special COVID-related edition of Giving Tuesday. If you are in a position to do so, please consider supporting this fund. Every contribution makes a difference. You can support Brock’s COVID-19 Student Emergency Bursaries in the following ways:

Make a one-time gift online at brocku.ca/donate   

Contribute through payroll deduction at my.brocku.ca/BrockDB/pay_EmpDeductionCampaign.aspx