State funding will help underprivileged students

UC Riverside will use a $5 million state grant to help underprivileged attend college without accumulating large debt.

The funding from the Office of the Governor’s California Volunteers program will allow the university to place more than 150 students in the program’s three highest priority classes: K-6 education, climate action, and food insecurity, according to a statement on the university’s website.

“This is an opportunity for undergraduate students to make a difference in their community, while also gaining professional skills, as well as graduate with less debt,” said Jessica Marie Saldivar, program director for UC Riverside’s College Corps, in the statement. “Our students support both on-campus or off-campus programs.”
The program began in the fall of 2022. Since then, about 1,600 K-6 students in greater Riverside have been tutored, and 40,000 individuals from that community have received food through food distribution services, according to the statement.