Finishing Strong: Student Advocacy Center’s Emergency Fund

At The Ohio State University, we’re dedicated to helping students through difficult situations. That’s why we’re proud to offer the Student Advocacy Center’s Emergency Fund to undergraduate students facing financial emergencies.

The fund provides assistance up to $1,000 to students at risk of dropping out of college due to unexpected financial emergencies. The fund was created to help students who would otherwise have to suspend their education to address their emergent financial expenses.

For Bre’ Schaeffer, a social work major, the emergency fund helped her focus on her future. Bre’ came to Ohio State as a first-generation college student with experience in poverty. She lacked support outside of the Young Scholars Program. Between working multiple jobs, pursuing an internship and classes, she struggled financially.

“It was hard to balance work and class on top of everything else expected of me. It came to a point where I had to make the decision to either focus on my future or stay in the present.”

That’s when Bre’ found the Student Advocacy Center’s Emergency Fund.

“The fund helped me catch up on gas, electric and rent, and not have to worry about my services being disconnected,” Schaeffer said. “The application process was easy and working with the Student Advocacy team was a wonderful experience.”

Looking to the future, Bre’ plans on applying for the Traditional Masters Social Work Program at Ohio State. She hopes to get support to help finance her degree.

“I would like to say thank you for how much the emergency fund helped me. I think this fund can help a lot of people in similar positions to me. It can prevent students from being homeless or having extra mental health struggles from not being able to solely focus on school without financial stressors.”

For more information on the emergency fund, visit the Student Advocacy Center’s website.