This fund was launched over a month ago and in that time we have been able to provide emergency financial assistance to more than 180 students. We could not have done it without you. Thank you. Your gifts have made it possible for our students to overcome the sudden obstacles that may have prevented them from continuing their Drake journey. Many of the students who have requested aid are unable to work due to the pandemic so in addition to helping students navigate the transition to home and online learning, this fund helped them cover necessities such as rent and food.

Several students have reached out to express their gratitude:

• You made my day. It means a lot and I will never forget the generosity of our alumni. 

• I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this assistance. It will help my children and I immensely through this.

• Drake has become so much more than a place of academia for me. It has become an extended family. My family is so grateful for this help.

• This is truly amazing and demonstrates the support of Bulldogs. This will not go unnoticed, and I look forward to paying this forward to future Bulldogs when things have settled.

• I hope one day I will be able to help students. Thank you. 

• I cannot thank you enough for this gift and blessing! Thank you so much. It is such a comfort and relief right now. 

• Thank you so much, my family and I greatly appreciate it and are proud to be a part of the Bulldog Family.

• Thank you much. I would like to extend my gratitude to all those who made this possible for many other students as well.

We are truly a Drake community that looks out for and takes care of each other. Thank you for being there for our students and for making the Student Emergency Fund a success.

This amazing video was created by Drake University students Louis Luong, Emilyn Crabbe, and Sydney Skemp. 

While our faculty and staff may be working and teaching from home, and our students scattered across the globe, we are still united as one Drake community. We are still learning and creating outstanding things, like this video. We are still #DrakeTogether.  

Thank you for being a part of this movement and supporting our students. Because of your generosity, students are able to meet the challenges they face during this pandemic. You are assuring Bulldogs that we will all get through this—together. 

Thank you. 

Service to the community and a compassionate spirit have always been in the make-up of Bulldogs and these times are no different: from the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences donating gloves and our Innovation Studio creating face shields with their 3D printer, we are truly showing that we are Drake Together.  

Our community has been hard at work supporting our students as well. Over 200 students have requested assistance and your gifts are making sure we can help as many as possible. 

Liza Vinyon, (pictured below) the current president of Drake’s Student Alumni Association, shared her thoughts recently, how it’s meant so much but her fellow students are still struggling with this “new normal”:  

“I feel so blessed to be part of an institution that puts people first. In this time of uncertainty, Drake University has made it clear that we chose to attend the right school! 

But I’ll be candid, this is hard. I miss my friends, my professors, meetings that used to seem monotonous, speed walking to FAC for my 8 a.m. class, and even Hubbell Dining.    

A lot of us are feeling overwhelmed with the new demands of life while trying to balance schoolwork and scheduling video chat meetings, away from the campus we love (which for me, is from inside the four walls of my lime green childhood bedroom).    

My heart feels heavy knowing that I can’t give my favorite senior a hug goodbye or throw Griff the retirement party he deserves. It hurts to hear that my friends are struggling in isolation and my peers don’t know how they will pay their rent. These financial worries are very real.” 

Your donations are helping Liza’s classmates find their balance and a path forward to continue their Drake education. 

In the short time since we launched this fund, we have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity from our alumni, faculty, staff, and friends—raising more than $25,000 in less than a week! Thank you all so much for showing our students they have your support! 

The impact has been immediate – gifts to the fund are meeting the most pressing needs of students impacted by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drake is providing financial assistance for things like tools to access their online courses, covering expenses for travel back home, and helping to cover living expenses for those who have lost wages from a campus or local job.  We have currently received assistance requests from more than 145 students and we expect needs will continue to grow. Through your generosity, we will be equipped to meet them. 

Generosity has always fueled excellence at Drake. Today, it is helping us stand together as one community and care for Bulldogs in need.  

Today, and forever, we are Drake Together.