Concord, N.H. (June 30, 2026) – Granite Edvance has donated an additional $100,000 to the Student Emergency Aid Fund it helped create in 2024 with The Foundation for New Hampshire Community Colleges, bringing its total contribution to $280,000. The fund, which has already supported 276 students across the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH), helps cover short-term, non-academic expenses such as food, housing, childcare, and transportation so that students can stay enrolled and focused on their studies.
“Our students are resilient and hardworking but their lives are complicated, often balancing school with jobs and family responsibilities, and the last thing we want — and the last thing that New Hampshire’s employers want — is for their plans to be derailed by one of life’s unexpected challenges, particularly if it’s one that can be easily resolved,” said Dr. Mark Rubinstein,CCSNH Chancellor. “In the first two years since Granite Edvance made the initial investment in this fund, this initiative has helped more than 270 students, often with grants of a few hundred dollars, that have meant the difference between dropping out and staying on track for a degree in healthcare, automated manufacturing, education, or many other pursuits that New Hampshire needs them to fill.”
The average award is approximately $600. The top needs are housing, transportation, and food. Such needs, left unmet, can spiral quickly. That was the case for Jenna, a massage therapy student at Great Bay Community College in 2025, who faced illness followed by multiple car problems. “I wouldn’t have been able to survive the school year without it,” she said.
Transportation can be particularly problematic. “It escalates. It morphs into another problem,” said Julie Dockery, Student Support Coordinator at Great Bay Community College. “As students can’t get to school, they lean toward the online classes, which means they don’t have support, they don’t access the food pantry because they can’t get to school… They become more isolated.”
The need is tangible in the applications themselves. “The tires on our car are cracking they are so old, we have no food in the house or way to get to a food pantry,” one awardee, an Early Childhood Education student at Great Bay Community College, stated in her application. “I have exhausted all other resources.”
An HVAC student at Manchester Community College described a similar challenge: “Even when I work full time it’s still hard to put food on the table along with necessities like bills and school clothes for my daughter.”
“Many of the needs turn out to be the last straw in a series of challenges,” said Kelly Nolan, Student Success Coach at River Valley Community College. “It’s an outstanding investment in our students, and we are grateful.”
The donation is part of a growing emphasis by Granite Edvance on addressing basic needs so students can remain in school and focused on their studies. In addition to the $280,000 provided to CCSNH since 2024, Granite Edvance has donated $200,000 to student aid funds in the University System of New Hampshire and contributed food and financial support to its food pantries.
“Helping students pay their tuition bills is important, but we also want to ensure they can stay in school and succeed,” said Granite Edvance President and CEO Christiana Thornton. “We’re excited to continue this wonderful partnership to assist more students in reaching their goals.”
The impact, staff say, goes beyond finances. “Some of these students sat in my office because they didn’t know if they could finish, and because of (Granite Edvance’s) generosity, we were able to build that bridge and get them across the finish line,” said Amy Vazifdar, Director of Student Support and Engagement at Nashua Community College.
“This support reinforces a sense of stability and belonging,” said Dr. Mark Desmarais, Vice President of Student Affairs at White Mountains Community College. “It shows students that the college, CCSNH, and Granite Edvance are invested in their well-being and committed to helping them persist through challenges.”
