Over the past 30 years, post-secondary tuition has increased faster than inflation. According to a 2018 GAO report: “… rising college costs have outpaced federal and state grant aid and, over time, have led to an increasing share of the cost being borne by students and their families.” Roughly half of all undergraduates are financially independent from their parents and about 14% are single parents.

68% of all jobs require some form of education and/or training beyond high school according to Georgetown University’s 2023 After Everything Report.

Our Consortium of Partners:

In 2017, a group of like-minded individuals realized that basic needs insecurities were having a significant impact on the lives of many students in our region. Our Founder and Senior Advisor John Kepner, formed a Core Team to begin to create solutions together which included leaders from Manna on Main Street https://mannaonmain.org/, Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities https://www.pottstowncluster.org/, Gwynedd Mercy University https://www.gmercyu.edu/, Montgomery County Community College https://www.mc3.edu/, Family Promise Montco https://www.fpmontco.org/, Monto Anti Hunger Network https://www.montcoantihunger.org/, and Your Way Home Montgomery County https://yourwayhome.org/.

Our Part:

We believe that finding ways to support the basic needs of low-income students will not only make a big impact at the individual level, but will also build a stronger local economy and a more diverse and skilled workforce.