By Roger Muñoz

The newly established “Good­Samaritan­Fund” aims to help Fresno State students overcome unanticipated financial setbacks.

Fresno State President Joseph Castro established the fund as part of the President’s Circle for Excellence, which is one of four projects intended to boost student success.­ The other three programs are the Tablet Project, the Bulldog Pantry and the President’s Fund.

Students can now apply for financial assistance from the “Good­Samaritan­Fund,” which focuses on helping students overcome unexpected hardships.

Jessica Stemwedel of the office of Scholarships and Student Affairs Development said students facing an unexpected crisis like a robbery, fire or crashed computer should apply.

“A lot of our students are on very [thin] budgets,” Stemwedel said.­ “And if something comes up that they don’t expect, it can be catastrophic.­ We had one student who had his mother die unexpectedly, and he was an international student.­ So he didn’t have the funds to go back to her funeral.­ So we helped cover some of the cost for that.”

Since 2005, Fresno State has offered this type of assistance through the Parent’s Association under the name Catastrophic Fund, but had limited funding to fully promote the program to students.­ Stemwedel said that recent large donations and commitment by Castro have made it possible to promote the program to more students.

“We have more money dedicated to it. Before, we had very limited funds,” Stemwedel said.­ “So we couldn’t promote it that heavily to our students.­ It was more of letting people within our division of student affairs know if they came across a student in a tough situation that this was available.”

So far, $11,000 has been raised in private support since Castro announced the fund last year.­ Stemwedel said there’s still a limited capacity of support that the program can offer because it is dependent on donations.

Stemwedel said that unexpected hardships often distract students from accomplishing their educational goals, and the­Good­Samaritan­Fund aims at keeping students focused on accomplishing their educational goals.

Stemwedel said if students falls victim to a theft or fire then they should attach a report from the authorities to their application to verify their losses.

Applications are reviewed by the­Good­Samaritan­Fund committee and the Financial Aid office coordinates the appropriate funds.