The Bridge Fund

Stonehill College created The Bridge Fund to assist hardworking Stonehill students with great financial need—providing a quick turnaround for our students when their family faces unexpected financial hardships.

Support the Bridge Fund
Graduates on Donahue Hill
The Bridge Fund helps students persist to graduation.

At Stonehill College, we are committed to ensuring that we help make our world-class education accessible and affordable to every student. We understand that being able to stay at Stonehill can be an uphill battle for our current students.

Stonehill created the Bridge Fund in 2016 to provide financial support to students facing an unexpected financial set back that leaves them in danger of not being able to complete their college education.

Administered through the Office of Student Financial Assistance, the Bridge Fund enables a quick turnaround for funding requests from qualified students whose families are facing inordinate financial hardship.

The Bridge Fund in Action

Since the 2019-2020 academic year, we have seen a significant increase in the number of students requesting support through the Bridge Fund - particularly as our students and their families continue to deal with the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Academic Year 2018-2019: 5 students received $11,768 in Bridge Fund awards.
  • Academic Year 2019-2020: 17 students received $46,304 in Bridge Fund awards. 
  • Academic Year 2020-2021: 17 students received $49,066 in Bridge Fund awards.

Your support of the Bridge Fund will continue to provide funding to deserving Stonehill students.

Bridge Fund Recipient

Juan Lopez, a proud Stonehill graduate of 2018, talked about the importance of the Bridge Fund in a 2017 article in the Boston Globe saying,

“If it wasn’t for [the Bridge Fund], I probably would [have been] out of here by the end of my freshman year. I would be working at a factory or a landscaping job, going to community college and hoping to transfer my credit.”

Instead, Juan graduated cum laude in 2018 and was offered a job in his home city of Chicago as an Advisor at Nuveen. Students like Juan, who have benefitted from the Bridge Fund, received support for expenses ranging from health insurance coverage to meal fund assistance to funds for required textbooks—areas of significant financial burden that can cause a student to withdraw.

I'm happy to support the Bridge Fund. I know what it's like to not know if tuition is going to be paid... you feel helpless. Hope this helps a Stonehill family.

Bridge Fund Support

Student Expenses

In the 2020-2021 Academic Year, 17 students received $49,066 in funding to cover the following student expenses. These costs can become a significant financial factor in continuing a college education. The Bridge Fund allows students to focus less on financial limitations and concentrate on their education—academic courses, mentorship, opportunities for internships and/or studying abroad in their college experience.

$25,144
Unexpected/Emergency Educational Assistance

Supporting books, unanticipated fees, cost of education in emergency situations such as job loss, injury or illness

$21,495
Health Insurance

Funding covered the cost of Mandatory Student Health Insurance for students with financial need who are not covered on parent plans or who lose health insurance coverage during the school year

$2,427
Travel Expenses

Students who need to travel to/from Stonehill for family emergencies, during school breaks/closures and can’t afford the cost of the airfare and other travel expenses

Bridge Fund Impact

2017-2018 Academic Year Recipient

"As a first generation student of immigrant parents, paying for college is not a feasible task and had it not been for the Bridge Fund, I would not have been able to come back to Stonehill for my Junior year. It means a lot to me, and my parents that I was selected to receive the Bridge Fund, I wish you could have seen their faces when I told them the news because they were overwhelmed with joy learning that I would be continuing my studies at Stonehill. That is why receiving this scholarship has meant a great deal to me and I will always be thankful for it.

Coming from humble backgrounds, and being able to pursue a higher education has been a privilege I will never take for granted. Receiving this scholarship is a gift and a privilege that I will never forget."

2018-2019 Academic Year Recipient

"During my junior year, the Bridge Fund helped me while I was living off-campus. I did not have access to a car, so getting to and from Stonehill became a challenge. The Bridge Fund helped with transportation expenses so I could get to and from campus for class.

The Bridge Fund also helped me a second time over the summer when I was at my internship. Not having a car made getting to and from my internship site an obstacle. The Bridge Fund covered my transportation expenses."

2020-2021 Academic Year Recipient

“Thank you so much for the help paying for my class fees!”

2020-2021 Academic Year Recipient

“I would love to express my gratitude for the support I received from the Bridge Fund. During my junior year, I received funds that helped me fly home and return to school when the College closed down during the pandemic, as well as support for my student health insurance. Additionally, I sustained an injury that prevented me from working during my senior year, so the Bridge Fund helped me while I was jobless and had run out of savings to cover my every day expenses. Thank you – your support of the Bridge Fund is most appreciated! ”

Support the Bridge Fund

Your gift to the Bridge Fund makes a difference, thank you!

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