The Student Support Foundation Needs Your Help

Have you ever heard of the Student Support Foundation on campus, A.K.A SSF? Most people have not, which is why we are reaching out to the student body to bring more awareness to such an awesome club. We need your help to carry this club forward for many more years. All of our club members are seniors graduating this spring, and seeing such an awesome club come to an end after fourteen successful years here at Plymouth State University would be devastating, to say the least.

One may ask, what even is the Student Support Foundation? SSF began back in August of 2005 with a challenge grant from Carrie Morgridge, whose husband John is a PSU alumnus class of 1985. “The Foundation is an organization open to all full-time undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in taking responsibility for their fellow students and learning more about poverty and the life skills of service and philanthropy.” (SSF website) Our missions as a group to help others are to keep students in school through temporary emergency assistance and long-term student support. We also like to create a culture of philanthropy in the campus community which allows us to give back to those surrounding us.

The biggest givebacks of SSF is our food pantry here on campus, located in Belknap Hall and our money assistant grants. We supply applications for students in need of financial assistance whether it be an emergency or not. If an application is approved (which they almost always are) we can grant anywhere from $25-200 per student. More information along with the application can be found on The Plymouth State Student Support Foundation’s website. Along with our grant system, we have a volunteer-run food pantry that has more than just food to offer. We have cleaning supplies, school supplies, hygiene products and more…all for FREE! The food pantry is available to students on and off campus. Soon we will have set hours for the pantry to be open and run by our amazing volunteers, but for now to schedule an appointment you can reach out to us via Facebook or email our lovely and hardworking advisor, Casey Krafton. You may also email Casey in regards to anything SSF related; she will be more than glad to help out.

When asked what her favorite part of advising SSF is, Casey said, “I think it’s amazing to work with students who are so passionate about helping people. I believe everyone here has a talent to do that so perfectly. It warms my heart to see the willingness of students to step up into these stressful but rewarding leadership positions in order to take care of each other in our community. It’s nice to see the willingness without expecting anything in return. I am truly thankful to work with such awesome, caring students!”

When asked what working within the SSF has taught her, Co-President Briana Munoz said, “I have been in SSF for four years and it has taught me so much throughout the years. It has opened my eyes to a lot of issues, that happen every day in our own community, that many don’t even know about. Becoming aware of these issues surrounding our community, I have learned new ways to help and give back to those in need. I feel so grateful that I get to be a part of this club and give back while also having fun and learning.”

After all the hard work and dedication our club members bring, we always make sure to find a way to have fun with what we do, as well. We have done fundraisers, we have gone on international conference trips to other states with other colleges, and much more.

Our newest fun and educational event will be held on February 20^th and 27^th in two residential halls. It will be in Grafton on the 20^th and Blair on the 27^th. We will be doing SSF trivia and raffling off PSU swag, and much more while we enjoy some delicious food. Make sure to come out and join us if you want to learn more about our organization and how you can give back too!

Our weekly meeting times are in Belknap Hall every Wednesday at 6pm. Anyone is welcome to show up.