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Dear Pomona College community,
More than any buildings or the palm trees in sunny California, our sense of community is what makes our school Pomona College. Our close-knit relationships with one another create the space where we call home, where we have eye-opening discussions, make lifelong friends, and discover new passions. Now, when we are physically apart, we can begin to find Pomona College in each other and in ourselves, and realize that this community follows us to wherever any Sagehen is. Our campus is now global — it lives on in our virtual conversations and relationships.
Every student is a part of our Pomona College community. So we must come together for the members of our community who are left to fend for themselves this summer. Occupy Pomona used a preliminary need assessment survey to set our fundraising goals, and the current demonstrated need is much greater than we predicted. 33% more students requested emergency summer assistance than we had anticipated, of whom:
We are currently $62,500 away from reaching our fundraising milestone, which we need to reach by the end of May to adequately subsidize these expenses. All of the donations we have received thus far have already been distributed, so without your additional support, these students will face extended insecurity for the months ahead.
During our remote spring semester, Occupy Pomona distributed 178 grants, which were awarded to 1 student for every 13 attending Pomona. Now, we need your help to care for students in need of funding for the summer. As a grassroots organization run entirely by student volunteers for our peers, Occupy Pomona is the only comprehensive funding source able to subsidize costs that Pomona students face, not only to meet their individual needs, but also for their high responsibilities as breadwinners for their families and loved ones. We value full transparency in our ongoing endeavor to support our fellow students, and thus make our finances publicly available. In addition, we share experiences and perspectives with the student body and prioritize open communication, enabling us to acutely understand their needs.
How Sagehens support each other in this time of crisis is indicative of who we are as a community, and who we will be when we look back on this unique chapter of Pomona College history. The gates by College and 6th Avenue tell the students, "They only are loyal to this college who departing bear their added riches in trust for mankind." So, we as Pomona College students are seeking to be loyal to one another and ensure that vulnerable Sagehens will be supported and have the resources to care for themselves this summer.
In solidarity,
Occupy Pomona