The KSA and KPU Donate $200,000 to Aid Students During COVID-19
Council members agreed to set money aside to help fight the pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads in the lower mainland, KPU and the Kwantlen Student Association are working together to reduce financial hardship for KPU students.
The KSA recently passed a motion to donate $200,000, with $100,000 of that going towards KPU student awards and financial assistance. The other $100,000 will go towards organizations working to keep Vancouverites safe and healthy in the midst of the pandemic.
KPU matched the KSA’s $100,000 donation to students.
KSA President and VP of External Affairs David Piraquive says almost everyone on the KSA Council voted in favour of the motion.
“We have approximately more than $2 million and I was asking for about 10 per cent of that, so I thought people might push back a little bit, but surprisingly some people didn’t,” he says.
The KSA is planning on donating to several food banks but has yet to choose specific locations.
“We want to donate to some food banks across the lower mainland or … organizations that are helping with this ongoing crisis,” says Piraquive.
He has also reached out to Honour House to show gratitude for first responders.
Honour House is an independent registered charity located in New Westminster. It provides free accommodation for up to 11 members of the Canadian Armed Forces, veterans, and emergency services personnel as well as their families.
Piraquive says the KSA will probably donate money to 10 organizations, giving $10,000 to each one.
Meanwhile, the KSA’s food bank is still up and running for students struggling to put food on the table.
“The food bank we provide to students is not supposed to be … for a whole month,” says Piraquive. “A lot of the foods that we have are more for a short-term basis when they are desperately in need, but we are still trying to run that as much as we can while the campus is still open.”
The KSA plans to make the donations before the spring semester ends.
