Crunch for a Cause fundraiser supports Northern minority students

Press release

The Montana State Univesity-Northern Diversity Committee is requesting community support for minority students’ scholarships.

A Crunch for a Cause fundraiser with Taco John’s will run between 5 and 7 p.m. Thursday. When people making a purchase at the Havre restaurant between those times mention the MSU-Northern Office of Diversity Awareness and Multicultural Programs or present the small flyer, posted on the Northern Multicultural Center website at https://www.facebook.com/MSUNMultiCenter/, 50 percent of the purchase price will be donated to the fundraiser.

The fundraisers will go to scholarships that are dedicated to support the academic success of minority students, who, according to higher education literature, are at a higher risk of dropping out or taking longer than expected to complete their degrees because of specific challenges they typically encounter during their college years such as cultural shock, lack of financial means, or being the first college generation, just to mention some.

The Diversity Committee has established that students who apply for this scholarship will identify themselves as an ethnic or racial minority, should demonstrate financial need, and have at least a 2.5 GPA. Interested Northern students should apply in a timely manner according to the deadlines determined by the Financial Aid Office. They should complete the scholarship application, write an essay of no more of 500 words explaining their needs and how this scholarship will help them meet their academic goals. People who are awarded the scholarship will receive them during Northern’s scholarship reception in April.

Last year was the first year this committee started these scholarships, and the members said they would like to continue increasing the amount and the number of students who would benefit from it. The recipient of last year’s scholarship was Darcy Joseph Azure, community leadership major.

People who want to make donations to this fund can contact the ODAMP at 265-3589 or [email protected].