Even the smallest kindness counts
I鈥檝e always tried to give back to students at 性吧导航 because of the help that I received. When I was a student in the final semester of my final year of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, I applied for the Student Emergency Bursary. Our van had broken down and I was due to go to my Home Care clinical placement. At this time, we had a four-year-old daughter and a fifteen-year-old son and were caring for my ill parents. Even though I had been working part-time through all four years of my program, we had run through our savings.
I received $500 and a trip to the Students鈥 Association Food Bank. This support at this critical time allowed me to finish my program and graduate rather than withdraw and go back to work full-time. It鈥檚 because of this support that I have the career I have now, and that I can give back to students in so many ways. I have donated to and the and have participated in many projects that give back to the . As Nursing instructors, we used to have a social committee for our faculty group which organized a group gift to support scholarships.
As a faculty member, I鈥檓 reminded of student needs daily. I hear students talking about having to work more and more while attending school full time. Sometimes, students will choose to work a shift over attending class if they can get the notes and material from their classmates. When we take students to clinical practice, we eat lunch together at times and I see what little they have and what their lunches consist of. I know that some students come to class with little and can鈥檛 afford to buy snacks at school, so I keep snacks, coffee and water in my office. I鈥檝e bought groceries for a couple of students in the past year.
I know the difference that donor support can have for students, because of the difference that $500 and a food hamper made for me. However small an action feels, sometimes it鈥檚 the thing that makes all of the difference.
There has always been a need to have emergency financial support available to students, but the need seems greater this year than it has in the past. Personally, I know that when I grocery shop, my usual $300 cart now costs almost $500. Tuition has increased, along with the cost of living. More and more students talk about the struggles of finances, especially those with kids. Some of the single students are going 鈥渉ome鈥 on the weekends to work and get groceries from the bank of mum. This makes it hard to save and plan for unexpected expenses. The is a critical safety net and having access to this kind of support means that students don鈥檛 need to make that hard choice of completing their programs or getting a full-time job when unforeseen expenses come up.
That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 participating in our campaign this year. I want others to know that their support can change a student鈥檚 life, as it did for me.