The Foundation contributed $250,000 to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and $150,000 to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to support their emergency student aid initiatives. The funding offered immediate help to seniors who are on track to graduate but unable to pay the total cost of tuition. The grant reached all 39 UNCF-member institutions, with the primary focus in 2009 on assisting students at UNCF-member colleges in North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and Virginia.
"Lowe's contribution to UNCF's Emergency Student Aid Campaign is a lifeline to students whose college education is threatened by the recession," said Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D., UNCF president and CEO. "Thousands of students at UNCF-member colleges have seen family contributions reduced or eliminated due to job loss and pay cuts. Many of these students wouldn't have been able to register this fall if Lowe's hadn't stepped up."
The grant given to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund focused on assisting students at colleges and universities in California, Colorado, Nevada, New York and Texas. Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation worked with UNCF and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to determine where we could provide the most impact to students who were in danger of not graduating because of financial needs. In addition to ensuring that students don't have to put their academic dreams on hold, the grants are helping minority students close the achievement gap in higher education.
In all, our community outreach initiatives include partnerships with more than 50 nonprofit organizations at the national, regional, state and local levels — organizations such as the National Urban League, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, United Negro College Fund, National Council of La Raza and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.