SVSU students start scholarship for pregnant students, mothers

A couple of Saginaw Valley kingdom college students are nearing their purpose of raising $50,000 for an endowed scholarship supporting pregnant or parenting mothers who are students at SVSU or Delta college, sophomore Madison Velez stated.

Velez is the president of pro-lifestyles organization shield existence SVSU and co-founder of the Hopeful destiny Scholarship, a fund meant to provide financial assistance to college students who're pregnant or elevating children aged 2 and under, she stated. The scholarship’s first disbursement is deliberate for June and will include an utility method, she stated.

Velez and co-founder Matthew Bartels intend the fund to discourage abortion via supporting college students and assuaging the monetary burdens that might make them choose among giving delivery and finishing their education, she said.

We hate to see women sense that they're pressured right into a corner after they discover themselves managing an unplanned being pregnant, Velez stated. As college students, we realize it’s tough while not having youngsters. We will only consider the demanding situations they have to face, finding out they’re pregnant whilst in university.

Bartels, then-shield existence SVSU president, pitched the concept for a scholarship supporting student mothers when he and Velez were brainstorming new ways to help seasoned-lifestyles reasons, Velez stated. Each to begin with saved their expectations in take a look at, however fundraising took off fast after making connections via the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw and region Catholic corporations, she stated. She hopes the fund can increase to different colleges in the following couple of years, especially central Michigan college and Mid Michigan university.

It’s without a doubt shocking, genuinely, Velez stated. I certainly didn’t assume we’d make it to that ($50,000) mark approximately a 12 months in.

As an endowed scholarship, the yearly hobby generated on the entire of the fund is used for presents, allowing the fund to live in use perpetually.