Pack Essentials is a strategic hub committed to the success of the whole student. The program provides critical resources so that students don’t have to choose between their academic career or providing for their basic needs.
When Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina, Pack Essentials program director Stevie Kimmet saw a surge in applications for aid from students whose families were suddenly faced with unexpected hardship.
“We talked with dozens of students who shared concerns like, ‘I have to drop out because I need to go to Western North Carolina and take care of my family,’” said Kimmet.
Kimmet and the Pack Essentials team reached out to each student applicant to help find solutions. Later, in an anonymous feedback survey the program sent out, one of the students affected by Hurricane Helene commented on how the program connected them with local resources in Raleigh — which provided a way for them to support their family from a distance. “It relieved a lot of stress,” they wrote.
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