Dozens of students—nearly one each week— receive much appreciated support from the Unconditional Love Fund, which assists LGBTQIA2S+ students with unexpected financial hardships associated with their sexual and/or gender identity.
Student recipients typically receive less than $500, but those relatively small amounts can be the difference between staying at MSU or giving up, according to Morgan Doherty, MSU’s Gender and Sexuality Campus Center coordinator.
As one student put it: “I encountered many roadblocks because of my queer identity: I struggled to find a job, safe housing, and generally to make ends meet. The Unconditional Love Fund has given me peace of mind for the next month as I am able to afford my rent and groceries, which was an absolute necessity before I managed to find summer employment, due to a lack of familial support related to my identities.”
Every dollar raised helps. Just $20 could provide an insurance co-pay for gender affirming health care, $35 a bus pass for a student whose family took their car away, $100 could cover the cost of one night in a hotel for a student fleeing an abusive home and $500 could help cover expenses after a family cuts off support.
This past year, thousands of dollars were raised for Unconditional Love Fund through CrowdPower campaigns, a pride month 5k event and sales of a special MSU Dairy Store Pride Bowl.
Lois Furry, '89
