Pictured: Dr. Alisa Webb, VP Students, UFV; Andrea Senft, ACF Board Chair; Dr. Joanne MacLean, President, UFV
Photo Credit: Darren McDonald, Communications, UFV

When the Abbotsford Community Foundation heard that the University of the Fraser Valley had launched a fundraising drive to help students whose lives have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the volunteer Community Grants committee  thought it sounded like just the kind of cause the ACF likes to support.

Wendy Neufeld, Executive Director of the Abbotsford Community Foundation, consulted with ACF stakeholders and worked together with the Vancouver Foundation to assemble a $10,000 donation for the UFV Student Emergency Fund.

“We are proud of our history of over 40 years of giving to the Abbotsford community and this emergency response funding to UFV for the Student Food Bank demonstrates ACF’s ongoing commitment to inspiring, impacting, and investing in our community. We know the demands the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on UFV and can only anticipate the long-term effects it will have. As your community foundation, we take seriously our responsibility to listen and support community in whatever way we can. We are pleased to help UFV and their students during these challenging times.  We truly give where we live,” said Neufeld.

Anita Nielsen, UFV Executive Director of Advancement, is grateful for community partners like the Abbotsford Community Foundation.

“This is a time of great need for our students, and we are very pleased to see our friends at the Abbotsford Community Foundation step up to support them.”

So far friends and supporters of UFV have helped raise more than $93,000 to help students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many UFV students have been laid off from their part-time jobs or have seen their summer employment prospects disappear.

The UFV Student Emergency Fund assists students experiencing urgent and serious financial difficulties.

Other initiatives supporting this fundraising drive include employees voluntarily donating their parking fees while they are working from home, and UFV’s participation in Giving Tuesday Now.