BMCC Virtual Fundraiser Raises More Than $636K, Donations Still Being Accepted

A virtual fundraiser at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) to support the college’s COVID-19 Student Emergency Fund and BMCC Student Scholarships Fund was held Thursday, June 11 via live stream.

In April 2020, BMCC established the COVID-19 Student Emergency Fund with the goal of raising one million dollars to assist BMCC students whose communities have been disproportionately affected by the health crisis.

So far, a total of $636,367.04 was raised at the event. You can still make a donation: Click here, or donate through Text to Pledge at (646) 876-2622.

“During the time of crisis caused initially by the COVID-19 pandemic and now systemic racial injustice that has been magnified through recent events, BMCC is doing all we can to provide help to students affected by socio-economic inequities and undue hardships brought on by a global public health crisis, the related economic devastation and now public outrage and mourning and demand for action,” Wilks said.

One hundred percent of the donations to the COVID-19 Student Emergency Fund will go toward student scholarships and emergency funds for students to cover costs associated with food, housing, medical and legal expenses, transportation and other basic needs, she said.

“Many of our students were living paycheck to paycheck prior to the pandemic and now have lost their jobs and income. This virtual fundraiser is a call to action to help BMCC students stay in college to successfully complete their courses and earn their degrees, to forever change their lives and the lives of their families,” Wilks said, as she stressed the transformative power of education to advance socio-economic mobility and justice.

“Donations of any amount provide help to our students facing job loss, food and housing insecurity, and having to decide whether or not to drop out of school due to financial hardship,” said BMCC Vice President for Institutional Advancement Lorna A. Malcolm, who also spoke at the virtual event.

“Having scholarship dollars available removes those challenges for many students and will also help provide them with the necessary technology to continue their studies,” Malcolm said. “By contributing to the BMCC COVID 19 Student Emergency Fund or to our scholarship fund, you can make a difference in the lives of our students. Most are the first in their families to attend college and more than half are from families with annual incomes of $20,000 or less annually.”

Videos featured in the virtual fundraiser highlighted student work in faculty-led funded research at BMCC, and presented calls to action by dedicated faculty, staff and friends of the college.

Showing their strong support for BMCC students and the college’s mission, speakers  included Tony Portannese, BMCC Foundation Board Chairman; Jim Axelrod, National Correspondent, CBS News; Ashley Bouder, Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet; John Dunleavy, Global President, Eightbar/WPP Global Client Leader, IBM; Edie Falco, Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award Winner and Tony Award-Nominated Actress and Philanthropist; Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez, Oscar®- and Grammy®-winning songwriters and Grace Van Patten, BMCC alumna and Television and Film Actress.

Despite pandemic, BMCC students show determination and talent 

Performances presented as part of the virtual fundraiser showcased the tenacity and talent of BMCC students.

These included an inspiring song compilation showcasing students in the cast of the BMCC original musical, “The Life of Mary Rogers: An Incredible, Plausible, Entirely Made-Up, Imagined, True Story from 1841,” and a moving song tribute performed by the CUNY Virtual Choir at BMCC.

In the semester that will forever imprint their generation of college students, BMCC students held down jobs as essential workers, volunteered in COVID relief efforts, displayed their original artwork and shared their findings as participants in grant-funded, faculty-led research in areas ranging from anti-HIV neutralizing agents to the anti-oxidant capacity of plants. BMCC respiratory therapy students graduated early to join COVID-response efforts in hospitals throughout New York City and nursing students passed their rigorous licensing exams, despite interruptions and getting sick themselves.

The semester concluded with a spirited virtual celebration honoring just under 5,000 BMCC graduates who were conferred associate degrees from over 50 academic programs.

More than 60 percent of those graduates will go straight into bachelor’s degree programs within CUNY and private colleges including New York University, Columbia University and others — many having won transfer scholarships and prestigious national honors. Others will enter the job market with their new degrees, and gain valuable experience in their fields of interest.

Students who receive donor-funded scholarships at BMCC are nearly four times more likely to graduate within three years than their peers who do not receive this support. They’re also three times more likely to earn a second and third degree.

The BMCC Virtual Fundraiser — a necessary departure from the college’s annual gala — celebrated student achievement and recognized the forward-thinking donors who have opened many doors to opportunity for BMCC’s most talented and promising students.