Thanks a million – and beyond – from our Emergency Hardship Appeal
01 Oct 2020
University thanks more than 3,000 supporters who raised over £1 million to help our students in need
More than £1 million of support has been made available to our students, thanks to generous donations to our Emergency Hardship Appeal from over 3,000 of our supporters in 80 countries across the world.
Our Emergency Hardship Appeal was launched at the end of April to support Manchester students facing financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, donations to the appeal have been helping to make sure students are not left struggling, enabling them to continue their education and fulfil their extraordinary potential.
The resulting funds have been used in a variety of projects, including the purchase of 150 additional laptops to loan to students who do not have adequate IT provision, an extension to the emergency financial support from our existing Living Cost Support Fund, employing a counsellor to work in our Halls of Residence to support students experiencing mental health difficulties as a result of the pandemic and an assessment of students with learning disabilities to help them access additional support where required.
More than 200 donations came from our staff and we also received gifts from alumni, parents of students and friends of the University.
Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students Professor April McMahon, Chair of the Disbursement Group, said: “The Covid19 pandemic has been difficult for so many people and yet our supporters have found it in themselves to be so generous. It has made such an impact on our students who need support. I have been truly moved and am really proud of what we have achieved in our University community.”
This support has added to our University’s strong record for widening participation, helping talented students from non-traditional backgrounds to progress to Manchester and achieve their potential. This year, according to internal data and prior to registration, we expect to exceed the target we have set with the Office for Students (OfS).
For this academic year we have a greater number of students starting University having completed one of our access initiatives. We expect to have 235 Manchester Access Programme students, compared with 147 last year; 189 Manchester Distance Access Scheme students compared with 128 last year; and 55 students starting courses in the School of Social Sciences after completing the Pre-University courses and Pathways to Law.
Further information
To see the full details of our projects supported by the Emergency Hardship Appeal, visit:
You can read more about our work to help talented students from non-traditional backgrounds at:
And you can watch our thank you video, filmed in June: