Emergency Funding Process for Students
COVID‐19 has presented unprecedented and challenging times for every person in the ECU community and the impacts are very real with immediate and potential long‐term effects. The difficulty many of you are experiencing relate to academics, but also employment, access to health care and even availability to groceries and basic life necessities.
As ECU Pirates have done for more than 100 years, we have seen generous donors step up their financial support for our ECU Student Emergency Fund and the Purple Pantry to find ways to ease the burdens our students are facing now and in the months to come. We are inspired to see so many Pirates supporting Pirates.
However, for many students, we are aware that there is stress about paying rent—or other bills—as jobs have been lost and/or hours have been cut. We have heard stories of students struggling to get classwork completed due to a lack of hardware or internet access needed to be successful. We know that there are families with limited access to food and are struggling as many community resources are being closed or limited.
ECU is thrilled to share some encouraging news for our students needing to request emergency funding support. Our student‐led philanthropic organization, the Students’ Treasure Chest, along with the ECU Office of Financial Aid and other campus partners, have created a process where students who have specific financial needs related to the impact of COVID19 are able to apply for emergency awards.
This process, along with new federal guidelines and funding, has made it possible for us to provide more assistance to more ECU students.
ECU students with a specific need related to lost wages/income,food/housing costs, or technology should complete the attached form by providing relevant information about your situation. The applications will be reviewed by a committee comprised of representatives from ECU Financial Aid, Dean of Students office and other administrators. We anticipate a significant number of students will submit emergency fund applications; hence, the review process may take up to two weeks upon receipt of the completed application form.
Note! If you have already submitted an emergency awards application to Financial Aid or Students’ Treasure Chest, you have no action at this time.
If you have any additional questions, please use the covid19grants@ecu.edu email address and include your full name and Banner ID.
ECU wishes you continued health and safety as we power through these difficult times together!
-Dr. Virginia D. Hardy, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs