BGU has exceeded its $6 million goal for the SOS Support Our Students Campaign.
As a result of the local and worldwide campaign, some 4,000 students -- 20% of the student body -- received financial aid packages so they could continue their studies.
The pandemic forced classes to be taught remotely and BGU began its academic year amid the country’s second COVID-19 lockdown. Unfortunately, the pandemic also caused many of the students to lose their employment and jeopardized their ongoing studies.
Recognizing that students might have to postpone their education or even drop out, BGU President Prof. Daniel Chamovitz launched the local and international SOS campaign to “Save the Class of COVID-19,” asking all its local and worldwide supporters to participate.
“Early on in the pandemic, we were concerned that many of our students would drop out because of the transition to online classes and the financial crisis. However, BGU able to ensure that not a single student dropped out or had to postpone their studies. In fact, we saw a 10% increase in new student enrollment due in part to the success of the SOS campaign -- a campaign that was so successful because of our network of associate organizations around the world and here in Israel,” says Prof. Chamovitz.
"Our worldwide and Israel associates did a fantastic job exceeding our fundraising goal of $6 million," says Jeff Kaye, BGU's Vice President of Public Affairs and Resource Development, "This was not a simple mission – the pandemic has depressed economies worldwide – but thanks to the professionalism and caring of our associates, BGU's students can continue to work towards bright futures."
