In response to the growing financial pressures facing its students, the Mohawk College Foundation has announced a matching-gift campaign ahead of Giving Tuesday.
The foundation’s goal is to raise $110,000 for student supports, ranging from tuition and books to rent and food, so students can focus on their academic goals.
College president Ron McKerlie said their students are “really struggling” with rising costs.
“Rental prices have increased somewhere between 13 and 15 per cent in the City of Hamilton over the last year. Food prices are up more than 10 per cent,” McKerlie said. “These are the two major expenses for students.”
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McKerlie also pointed to recent data indicating that 45 per cent of Mohawk College students need financial assistance in order to continue their studies.
“We would like, obviously, as many of these students to complete as possible,” McKerlie said. “There are great jobs waiting for them that we need, whether they be nurses, personal support workers or folks going through the trades.”
College officials and the Mohawk College Foundation have collectively pledged $55,000 to the matching gift campaign for student support.
Ahead of Giving Tuesday, it is appealing to college employees and the greater community to match that amount through an online gift catalogue in an effort to raise $110,000.
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