Wrap-around support to students
Donors to the Gateway Community College Foundation provide invaluable wrap-around support and rapid-response assistance to CT State Community College Gateway students.
Eligible students experiencing a short-term financial crisis for which no other resources are immediately available may receive Helping Hands grants. Please consider donating to this Fund to provide a tangible lifeline to students at particularly tenuous and pivotal moments in their lives.
Assistance can be used to help pay for housing, utilities, transportation, food, childcare, medical expenses, or costly repairs (automobile, heating system, water heater, etc.).
The Helping Hands Fund at Gateway Community College helps students who are experiencing a short-term financial hardship or crisis which they could not have forseen, and for which no resources are available to the student to resolve the crisis.
Helping Hands
The Helping Hands Fund assists students who are experiencing a short-term financial crisis for which they could not have been prepared, and for which no other resources are immediately available to the student. This Fund is supported by generous donations from members of the community and provides a tangible lifeline to students at particularly tenuous and pivotal moments in their lives.
Assistance can be used to help pay for housing, utilities, transportation, food, childcare, medical expenses, or costly repairs (automobile, heating system, water heater, etc.).
Thank you!
Helping Hands Student: ‘It’s a scary time’
While $250 may not sound like a lot of money, it can make a world of difference to a Gateway student facing housing or food insecurity, unemployment, illness, or a financial emergency. It did to nursing student Chelsea L. Celotto. “This (assistance) will really help me to pay my health insurance,” she explains. “My entire weekends are based on working to pay my bills throughout the month. It’s definitely a scary time, especially with no end in sight. It makes me extremely anxious and nervous for the future. The assistance helps me to stay afloat for the month. I greatly appreciate this.”
Family Economic Security Program (FESP)
For community colleges nationwide, attracting students is challenging. The greater challenge is providing the support necessary to ensure students finish college and reach graduation day.
Toward that end, CT State Community College Gateway's Family Economic Security Program (FESP) wraps students in support – a mixture of academic, career, financial and personal. The goal of this grant-funded program is to backstop students every step of the way to certificate and/or degree completion.
FESP features rigorous criteria and significant benefits for student participants.
It launched with two dozen students and has provided assistance to as many as 50 students per semester since. Participating students must have completed at least nine credits and have at least two semesters remaining; have a 2.0 GPA or higher; and be currently employed full- or part-time. Benefits include one-to-one coaching (financial, academic and career), cultural enrichment activities, professional development workshops and assistance with networking skills, on-campus family events, and early course registration.
Helene Augustine, Foundation Board member and a leader in launching the program, describes higher education as one of the areas that “touches my heart the most,” particularly equity issues for women and girls. The FESP initiative, she explains, is a “tremendous asset” for students who have the greatest need. “They’re trying to make a better life for themselves and their families, even though so much is stacked against them. FESP can help them achieve a better outcome.”
The FESP provides support to Gateway students through a referral process. To be considered, you must be referred by an FESP Coach, who will complete a referral form for you. Assistance is available for enrolled Gateway students in good standing.
Students Looking For More Information about FESP visit:
Faculty & Staff Support
The Gateway Community College Foundation provides targeted funding to support professional development to faculty and staff for innovative projects and new technology that directly benefit students and campus programs. Grants are designed to align with your department’s mission, reach measurable outcomes, and be led by faculty and staff with the expertise to ensure success. Even partial funding can make a critical difference, helping pilot new initiatives, expand programs, and set the foundation for future growth. By leveraging these resources, you play a key role in shaping the student experience and strengthening the Gateway community.
Your support of the Gateway Community College Foundation helps faculty and staff bring innovative projects and professional development opportunities to life projects that directly enhance student learning and campus programs. Each grant is carefully designed to align with Gateway’s mission, reach measurable outcomes, and be implemented by skilled faculty and staff. Every gift, whether partial or full, helps remove barriers, expand programs, and create lasting impact for students and the campus community. By giving, you are investing in tangible results that make a difference in the lives of Gateway students.
PLEASE HELP TODAY
Won't you please contribute to the Gateway Community College Foundation and help fund initiatives, like:
Professional Development Grants to Faculty and Staff
Student Clubs and Groups
Wraparound services
Emergency assistance
Laptop computers.