Even the smallest kindness counts

I’ve always tried to give back to students at Red Deer Polytechnic because of the help that I received. When I was a student in the final semester of my final year of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, I applied for the Student Emergency Bursary. Our van had broken down and I was due to go to my Home Care clinical placement. At this time, we had a four-year-old daughter and a fifteen-year-old son and were caring for my ill parents. Even though I had been working part-time through all four years of my program, we had run through our savings.  

I received $500 and a trip to the Students’ Association Food Bank. This support at this critical time allowed me to finish my program and graduate rather than withdraw and go back to work full-time. It’s because of this support that I have the career I have now, and that I can give back to students in so many ways. I have donated to scholarships and the Student Emergency Bursary and have participated in many projects that give back to the Students’ Association Food Bank. As Nursing instructors, we used to have a social committee for our faculty group which organized a group gift to support scholarships.  

As a faculty member, I’m reminded of student needs daily. I hear students talking about having to work more and more while attending school full time. Sometimes, students will choose to work a shift over attending class if they can get the notes and material from their classmates. When we take students to clinical practice, we eat lunch together at times and I see what little they have and what their lunches consist of. I know that some students come to class with little and can’t afford to buy snacks at school, so I keep snacks, coffee and water in my office. I’ve bought groceries for a couple of students in the past year.  

I know the difference that donor support can have for students, because of the difference that $500 and a food hamper made for me. However small an action feels, sometimes it’s the thing that makes all of the difference. 

There has always been a need to have emergency financial support available to students, but the need seems greater this year than it has in the past. Personally, I know that when I grocery shop, my usual $300 cart now costs almost $500. Tuition has increased, along with the cost of living. More and more students talk about the struggles of finances, especially those with kids. Some of the single students are going “home” on the weekends to work and get groceries from the bank of mum. This makes it hard to save and plan for unexpected expenses. The Student Emergency Bursary is a critical safety net and having access to this kind of support means that students don’t need to make that hard choice of completing their programs or getting a full-time job when unforeseen expenses come up.  

That’s why I’m participating in our Sweaters for Scholarships campaign this year. I want others to know that their support can change a student’s life, as it did for me.