Sterling Federal Bank Makes $5,000 gift to Student Emergency Fund
Sterling Federal Bank Makes $5,000 gift to Student Emergency Fund
In the months since COVID-19 hit the region, the Sauk Valley has rallied to help Sauk Valley Community College students financially impacted by the pandemic. Generous gifts to the Chris Byar Student Emergency Fund are helping students cope with urgent and unexpected circumstances and Sterling Federal Bank has stepped up to contribute $5,000 to this essential fund.
This represents the largest contribution toward the matching gift challenge put forward by SVCC leadership in April, which matches every gift from one dollar up to five thousand. The gift was acquired by Sterling Federal Bank through a federal grant and was announced to the college by Nick Krumbholz, Vice President, Chief Retail Officer at Sterling Federal Bank and member of the Sauk Valley College Foundation board of directors. “Sterling Federal Bank is proud to support the Foundation through the Chris Byar Student Emergency Fund,” shared Krumbholz. “During these unprecedented times, Sterling Federal Bank remains committed to our communities including helping to ensure that students will continue to have access to quality education in order to achieve their goals in life.”
The Chris Byar Student Emergency Fund helps students pay for necessities such as gas to travel back and forth to work, utilities and childcare. The fund also provides technology for remote learning such as loaner laptops, software and internet hotspots for students with limited internet access. Since March, more than one hundred SVCC students have requested aid through the Chris Byar Student Emergency Fund. The Foundation is honored to have distributed $10,000 to students in their time of need and the gift from Sterling Federal Bank has helped increase the fund by thirty three percent. Lori Cortez, Dean of Institutional Advancement shared, “The Sauk Valley College Foundation is extremely grateful for our community partnerships, especially Sterling Federal Bank. Their support of our Sauk students is so critical, given the current pandemic.”
The Foundation anticipates student requests to be heavy for the fall and spring semesters and it will continue to ask the public to give whatever they can in support of SVCC’s hard working students. To give to the Chris Byar Student Emergency Fund, please visit svcc.edu/give and click on Student Emergency Fund in the drop down box. Gifts may also be mailed to the Sauk Valley College Foundation, 173 IL Route 2, Dixon, Illinois, 61021.