“Through UNFC, I didn’t have to take out any loans, or find an extra job or go to school part time...I was able to focus on my work, studies and internships. I am forever grateful.” – Shermaine Scipio [GIVE TODAY]
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Friend,
This holiday season, we’d like to introduce you to Shermaine Scipio, a recent graduate of Dillard University in New Orleans, LA, a UNCF-member HBCU. She first went to community college in 2007 but paused to focus on being a single mom. So when her daughter entered college, she decided to pursue a degree in criminal justice with a focus on social justice reform, starting at Dillard in 2022.
Before graduating summa cum laude and debt-free, Shermaine was inducted into the criminal justice honors society and interned with a local nonprofit helping people transition back into society after prison. She even became a UNCF ambassador, discussing her experiences and scholarships in webinars with high school students.
Now, Shermaine’s working at the New Orleans Family Justice Center while pursuing her graduate degree at Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) — another HBCU. And she credits all these achievements to the support provided by the Gayle and Tom Benson Endowed UNCF Scholarship Fund award, funded in part by generous donors like you.
When you make your year-end, tax-deductible gift to UNCF, you are doing three important things: You ensure our students can dedicate all their energy to succeeding academically, you open opportunities to get hands-on training to jumpstart their careers, you help them become the professionals that will lead our communities into the future.
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And your gift this holiday season will make a tangible difference for exceptional students of all ages and pathways as they work toward their degrees:
$35 helps a student with fees.
$50 helps a student with textbooks.
$100 helps a student with a laptop or tablet.
$200 helps a student with a food plan.
$500 helps a student with room and board.
$1000 helps a student with tuition.
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In 2026, cuts to federal financial aid will jeopardize the ability of many of our students to complete their degrees. To ensure talented and deserving students can keep their eyes on the prize, we need to be ready to fill the funding gaps soon to arise in the new year.
You have the power to help students like Shermaine enter the spring semester with the resources to graduate college and go on to have fulfilling careers, no matter the challenges 2026 may bring. So please, make a tax-deductible gift to UNCF before the end of the year.
Thank you, and happy holidays to you and yours,
UNCF P.S.: If you have already made a gift to UNCF this season, please accept our sincere gratitude and appreciation. Happy Holidays!
United Negro College Fund
1805 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
United States
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