When Faris Fakhry (’20) sat down with Technology Coordinator Mariam Mathew to plan a TEDx conference at ASL, he realized Mathew needed to attend a TED Talks Training and Certification in New York. His aspirations simultaneously fell apart when he realized one ticket to New York can cost over £500.
Fakhry knew attending the training session was necessary as it would give ASL the license to have over 100 attendees come to the conference. There was only one way to get the funds necessary to fly Mathew out to New York, attend the conference, and fly back: Parent Community Association (PCA) Grants.
There are two different type of grants offered by the PCA: a Community Connections Grant and a mini-grant. The goal of a Community Connections Grant is to support activities which broaden perspective, support ethical citizenship and facilitate service to the community beyond ASL. These grants are up to £1,500.
The second type of grants, mini-grants, are up to £2,500 and provided to students, faculty and parents for one-time projects, not to be used for annually recurring or operating expenses.
Fakhry requested a PCA mini-grant to fund Mathew’s attendance at the conference. Fakhry found the application process straightforward and manageable. Due to the urgency of their project, he appreciated how accommodating the PCA was in regards to the timeliness of the grant. “We contacted the PCA and asked them to expedite the process because we needed the money to continue our project promptly,” he said. “They came back to us and had questions, and it was a bit of a back and forth between us for about two weeks.”
Fakhry respected the thoroughness of the PCA, especially as he and Vann were asking for a large sum of money. “Because we were requesting £2500, which is a fair sum of money, they just wanted to make sure they knew exactly what they were allocating it for,” he said.
Other projects that the PCA grants have funded include a virtual reality headset used in the Learning Commons, the 2018 Human Rights Seminar Symposium keynote and guest speakers and the Peer Tutoring Center, created by the SLD Department to enhance academic success.
(Email Anne Brosnan (annebrosnan@icould.com) or Dina Dacy (dinadacy@me.com) with any questions regarding the PCA grants.)
