CR Foundation

"We have students living in cars, moving from sofa to sofa, camping in the redwoods behind the College."

About the scholarship

The Redwoods Room & Board Scholarship Fund supports students struggling to find a safe place to sleep and enough food to eat while dedicating themselves to earning an education. The Scholarship provides these students with housing and meals, so they can focus on their education rather than on their daily survival. The program provides an interim safety-net that gives students an opportunity to build rental and job history, while they have the stability of housing & meals. CR’s Housing liaison will work with recipients to secure sustainable housing in the community.

What it Covers

This program provides a renewable, semester long scholarship which includes housing in CR’s Residence Halls and a meal plan in CR’s cafeteria. CR is contributing four rooms with eight beds, valued at $50,000, to demonstrate the College’s commitment to addressing the negative impacts of housing insecurity. We are asking for your support to cover the annual meal expenses of $48,000 and thereby provide $16 a day per student for food.

housing statistics

Nearly half of all community college students are experiencing overwhelming housing challenges: 35% experience ongoing housing insecurity; 15% are homeless; and 56% of community college students face food insecurity.

Wisconsin HOPE Lab and the Association of Community College Trustees

At College of the Redwoods

In Fall of 2018, over one hundred of CR’s students self-identified as facing housing insecurity or homelessness. Our students are living in their cars, moving from sofa to sofa, or camping in the redwoods behind the College. A significant number of our students are not getting enough to eat. Our Food Pantry is assisting over 100 of our students every week.

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Send to:

Redwoods Room & Board Scholarship Fund
College of the Redwoods Foundation
7351 Tompkins Hill Rd.
Eureka, CA 95501

- OR -

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'My father didn’t graduate from high school and used to say ‘don’t be like me’…. And I know if I drop out of school and work full time, I will just keep struggling. I will never get ahead.'

- Martha, College of the Redwoods Student

Martha's Story

Martha is a student at College of the Redwoods. She applied for financial aid, with help from her high school, and received confirmation of her completed application. But when she arrived at CR she found out her application was incomplete and that it could take months to be resolved.

Listen to Martha's Story:

Read the Full Story (PDF)

Tammy's Story

Listen to Tammy's Story

Read the Full Story (PDF)

'On the nights that I had to camp near school, I would usually stay in the wooded area behind the dorms and then use the shower facilities in the gym in the mornings.'

- Tammy, College of the Redwoods Student

CR is Battling Housing and Food Insecurity

A Food Pantry was established on the Eureka Main Campus.
Food Pantries at the Crescent City and Hoopa campuses are planned for 2019.
A Housing Liaison was hired to help our students find housing.
Gym showers and washers & dryers were opened to our students facing housing insecurity.
We provide health services and emotional / mental health counseling for our students.
There are various forms of financial aid to provide free or reduced tuition.
Student support services help cover fees, book costs, bus vouchers for transportation, and loaner laptops.
And now we have the new Redwoods Room & Board Scholarship Fund.

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FoodPantry

'The Redwoods Room & Board Scholarship will change the homelessness narrative in our community and at College of the Redwoods.'

- Keith Flamer, President/Superintendent of College of the Redwoods

How the Redwoods Scholarship Works

Criteria for Qualifying

In order to qualify for this scholarship a student must:

Be currently enrolled as a CR student.
Student must be currently homeless or experiencing ongoing housing insecurity. Preference will be given to College of the Redwoods students who have been verified homeless through the CR’s Financial Aid Office.
Submit the online CR scholarship application.
Have a minimum of 2.0 GPA.
Be enrolled in a minimum of 12 units.
Have a completed CR Residence Hall Application on file.
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Have a comprehensive Student Education Plan (SEP) on file.
Complete the Wisconsin Hope Lab Survey during the semester.
Award is not transferable to another college.

Upon successful academic completion of a semester and housing status review, a student may apply for the following semester’s Redwoods Room & Board Scholarship.

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Criteria for Maintaining

Maintain a grade point of 2.0 (the residence halls’ requirement for residents.)
Enroll, maintain, and complete a class schedule of 12+ units per semester (6+ units in summer.)
Follow the student conduct policy for both the District and the Residence Halls.
Meet with the Residence Hall’s counselor a minimum of three times a semester to provide feedback on academic and resident hall experience.
Enroll in a First Year Experience course (GS-1 or GS-6) the first semester in the Residence Halls and take World at Work job skills workshops when offered.
Secure a job in the community, or on campus.

Supporters of the Redwoods Room & Board Scholarship

A special thank you to:

St. Joseph Health System – Care for the Poor Grant
The Rose Perenin Foundation
The McLean Foundation
Olsen Family Fund, and the Vera P. Vietor Trust, funds of the Humboldt Area Foundation

Emily Arents, CNM, RN
Wendy Bates
David Bazard and Mary Mallahan
Sally and John Biggin
Vicki and Steve Bradford
Joe and Kerry Chartkoff
Steve Christianson - 2003 CR alumni
Marty & Kim Coelho
Butch Conley
Larry and Ruth Connolly
Dr. Bonnie Deister, Trustee

Michael and Tamara Dennis
Aline Faben
Keith Flamer
Walt and Becky Giacomini
Michelle Haggerty
Marina and Joe Hash
Angelina Hill
Nancy R. Ihara
Indivisible Ferndale
Katie Wendt Manning '77
Carol Mathews, Trustee

Julia Morrison
Colleen Mullery, Trustee
Open Door Community Health Centers
Jennifer Ourique
In memory of John and Rose Petrusha
The Quist Mazzocoo Family
Jesica Rawlings
Aaron and Christine Reiher
Thawatchai Ronne
Dave and Gaby Somerville
Monica Sperling
Barbara and John Vernon
Mike and Beth Woyak