Posted February 4, 2019
Student government crowdfunds scholarship aimed at student housing and food insecurity
The scholarship, created by Temple Student Government and funded via OwlCrowd, will help an undergraduate student to pay for a meal plan and to subsidize the cost of housing.
Photography By:
Joseph V. Labolito
Temple Student Government President Gadi Zimmerman and his leadership team have been heavily focused on issues such as housing and food security and say the administration’s Ignite a Movement Scholarship is another step to ensure Temple students’ needs are met.
The administration of Temple Student Government (TSG) wanted to leave a legacy on campus—and they’re aiming to do just that by creating a first-of-its-kind TSG-led scholarship.
The TSG Ignite a Movement Scholarship will be funded via an OwlCrowd campaign currently collecting donations. Funds raised toward TSG’s $5,000 goal will support a scholarship focused on basic needs for students: housing and food security. The scholarship will be awarded the last week of April and will be applied towards the next academic year.
For eligibility, students must maintain a grade-point average of at least 2.5 or higher and have a demonstrated need for additional financial support.
TSG President Gadi Zimmerman has been involved with a number of organizations and efforts focused on reducing food insecurity, including Challah for Hunger and the Cherry Pantry, Temple’s campus food pantry. He and other members of the current administration have taken on hunger and homelessness among college students as two of their campaign’s pillars.
“Throughout the year, we have been working on raising awareness on food and housing insecurity among college students, especially students on Temple’s campus,” Zimmerman said. “Members of TSG were trying to figure out more that we could do, and we thought about a scholarship. We wanted to do something tangible that made an impact on students’ lives, and we felt that a scholarship was the best way to do so.”
Hailey McCormack, TSG’s director of communications, said TSG’s aim is to publicize the scholarship so that people can donate and students can apply, and raise awareness about the impact of hunger and homelessness on college students at Temple and beyond.
“The scholarship was a big initiative for us and our administration, and we felt that we needed to shine a light on hunger and homelessness on college students from not only Temple, but all around the world.” McCormack said.
Although the OwlCrowd fundraising goal of $5,000 is aimed at supporting a one-time scholarship for one student, McCormack said she and fellow student leaders plan to use any additional funds raised to award additional scholarships.
“We want to be able to help our fellow Owls any way we can, and hope the scholarship is something that can be continued for many years,” Zimmerman said. “Each administration will have something they are passionate about, and we hope they can use this scholarship to raise money for that passion and help advocate for the student body for years to come.”
