Story by Paige Effinger, Contributing Writer
Murray State University is launching a new campaign, “Dunker’s Challenge – Student Emergency Fund” to give students financial help in times of need.
The fund is intended to help students who have suffered events that could hinder their further education at Murray State – anything as small as a student not being able to pay for their utility bill or needing financial assistance to pay for their books.
The Dunker’s Challenge – Student Emergency Fund is a reevaluation of a previous fund, the Dunker’s Challenge Scholarship. This original fund was started nine years ago to encourage students to give back to the university.
“Our goal with the original Dunker’s Challenge was to encourage freshman, sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students to give $10 back to Murray State, and that would go into a scholarship fund to go directly back to the students,” Abby Hensley, Director of Development for the Hutson School of Agriculture, said.
Hensley said the original Dunker’s Challenge Scholarship was successful, but she believes they are fulfilling a greater need with the emergency fund.
“We felt that there are students who have such a true desire to finish their degree, and for whatever reason, they find an obstacle or hurdle they just can’t get over themselves,” Hensley said. “We want to help that student reach their goal.”
Unlike the old scholarship, the students who will receive money from the emergency fund are not required to pay it back.
“Our goal is to get 200 students, 200 parents and 200 faculty and staff to give whatever amount they are able to give,” Hensley said.
The kick-off for donating began Feb. 16 and will run through Friday, Feb. 23. People can text “emergencyfund18” to 41444, or visit www.murraystate.edu/dunkerschallenge to donate.
Donations will be accepted after Feb. 23, but this week is the initial push to get people excited about donating.
“We want to raise as much as we can,” Don Robertson, Vice President of Student Affairs, said. “I think the needs are out there, and once this is publicized, lots of folks with legitimate needs will ask for help. The more money we have, the more assistance we can provide.”
Currently, there is not an application to receive financial assistance from the fund. Their main focus is to raise money, but they are in the process of working out an application.
There are a number of other services where students can receive assistance through Murray State. This emergency fund can accompany the other programs like Racers Helping Racers and the Racer Meal Bank to further assist students.
“We want to be student-focused and student-centered, and we want to be known for that,” Robertson said. “This is the logical thing for us to have.”