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Eastern students raise funds for scholarships in Haiti

by Dwight Bachman

Willimantic, CT (12/17/2020) — For the third year in a row, Eastern Connecticut State University students enrolled in French Professor Michelle Bacholle's "Perspectives on Women's Issues" class engaged in a fundraising drive to provide scholarships for girls to get an education at the Jean Bruny College in Les Palmes, Haiti.

Bacholle's students did not let the pandemic stop them from completing their community engagement project. Two years ago, they raised enough funds for one-and-a-half scholarships. Last year, they covered four. This year's drive ended on Nov. 30 and raised $915, covering about five scholarships.

Student Lyle Smith set up this year's GoFundMe page. He said he knew he had to take charge. "Assisting in bettering the lives of women around the world is a very noble and necessary cause, something I hold close to my heart," he said. "Being raised by my mother and grandmother, I've learned to respect the power and confidence that women exude. I was glad to facilitate the process of raising funds to help send underprivileged women in Haiti to school and provide them with a more promising future. This money will help provide a brighter future for not only these high schoolers, but their families as well. Annual tuition is only $180 and our goal is to cover three scholarships. Every bit counts."

Haitian students sent Bacholle four handwritten thank you letters, which touched her heart. "This is a record high in the three years that I've asked students in this course to conduct a fundraiser to cover high school female students' annual stipend in Les Palmes, Haiti," said Bacholle.

"I'm tremendously proud of my students for realizing that, although they are going through a rough time, young people in other countries have it worse, and that nothing, not even COVID-19, should get in the way of education, especially women's education. Research shows that families and the community fare better when females/mothers are educated."

For more on Jean Bruny College, visit https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:de063fbb-3425-4807-8fd1-6f0bff3d5453

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Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut's public liberal arts university, serving 5,000 students annually at its Willimantic campus and satellite locations. In addition to attracting students from 162 of Connecticut's 169 towns, Eastern also draws students from 34 other states and 19 countries. A residential campus offering 41 majors and 65 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal art foundation grounded in an array of applied learning opportunities. Ranked among the top 30 public universities in the North Region by U.S. News and World Report in its 2019 Best Colleges ratings, Eastern has also been awarded 'Green Campus' status by the Princeton Review 10 years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.

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