New Grant to Support Students Transitioning From Foster Care
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 22, 2020) — A new program in University of Kentucky's Student Support Services (SSS) will support a unique group of first generation students at UK.
The program, titled "First Generation Students: Meeting Their Basic Needs," has been funded by a nearly $50,000 grant from UK's Women & Philanthropy Network. The program is designed to support students who are transitioning from the foster care system, including students with young children who need assistance.
"We currently work with some students who fall in both those categories, and realized we were limited in how we could address their needs," said Lydia Wims, director of SSS. "Many of the students transitioning have no clue how to navigate college, or how to seek help that a parent would typically provide, like medical, food, rent or even child care. These students feel lost on how to navigate college even more so than traditional first generation students."
According to Wims, the new grant will help these students find community and connection, not just with SSS staff but with other students having similar experiences.
"This grant will provide much needed resources for things like health insurance, eyeglasses, emergency housing for breaks, food insecurity, and child care assistance, if necessary," Wims said. "So many young students come to the university unaware of how to access these basic needs for their life, much of which is generally provided by the parents of a typical college student."
Student Support Services, housed under UK's Office for Institutional Diversity, supports students with low income, first generation students and students with documented disabilities. While the program is well known for its tutoring and advising services, SSS students say the community and sense of family SSS provides is what makes it truly special.
Including SSS, the UK Women & Philanthropy Network recently awarded $227,250 to six academic initiatives at UK. This brings their lifetime grants to more than $2.2 million.
The Women & Philanthropy Network at UK was formed in 2007 to motivate and foster women as leaders, donors and advocates for UK. This group of women created a new culture of service and philanthropy through their gifts of time, talent and resources.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.