Student hardship fund receives boost

The Students First Fund, a fund that can help students facing serious financial hardship, received a boost last month from a golf tournament and an anonymous donor.

The Students First Fund Golf Tournament, sponsored by Rockville Bank and held May 1, raised nearly $13,000 for the fund through tournament fees and a silent auction held after the event.

Then, just one week later, an anonymous donor contributed $30,000 to the fund, which is managed by the UConn Foundation.

“It’s a wonderful affirmation of how deeply UConn’s faculty and staff care for our students,” said Scott Gallo, a project manager in residential life and organizer of the golf tournament.

More than 100 people took part in the tournament, which was held at the former Willimantic Country Club, now known as the University Club of Connecticut. Former UConn basketball star Donny Marshall, who recently bought the club with Chuck Grodovich, was on hand to cheer on the competitors.

Gallo has already reserved the course for June 4, 2010, for round two.

The later date places the tournament on the Friday before Alumni Weekend, and he hopes a number of UConn alums will join the crowd to help raise even more money for the program.