这个故事最初出现在 Res国际公共部门会计标准局, 威尼斯人娱乐城法学院校友杂志 要了解更多信息， 阅读全文 or visit the 法学院网站.
During the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting crisis, the 威尼斯人娱乐城 法学院 responded by providing emergency support for students through the Students First Fund — an example of collegial assistance that is not unusual for students or alumni of the Law School.
学生第一基金（Students First Fund）最初是向法律系校友发送电子邮件。 戴维斯，白求恩和琼斯有限责任公司同意在2020年6月30日之前匹配所有捐款。 在这场比赛中，校友们捐款超过1.8万美元。 2020年底的年度呼吁
杰克和海伦·米勒基金会（Jack and Helyn Miller Foundation）捐赠了1万美元的挑战基金来支持该基金，同时鼓励法学院校友捐赠年终礼物来帮助更多的学生。
Tom Jones (J.D. ’88) and his partners Scott Bethune (J.D. ’88) and Grant Davis (J.D. ’87) say they established the match because they know how challenging being a student in law school can be.
“We remember how hard it was for us to be students — the time, the sacrifice, the money,” Jones says. “Being a student has historically been a financial hardship – not only on students, but on the people surrounding the student. Sometimes we forget how people are struggling to get by.”
管理该基金的阿什利·斯旺森-霍伊（Ashley Swanson-Hoye）经常遇到学生遇到这些挑战。 她说，学生第一基金的成立是为了帮助那些急需租金、水电费、托儿和杂货等资金短缺的学生。
这笔钱被认为是一种紧急贷款，学生可以在规定的时间内还清，没有利息。 斯旺森-霍耶还与学生合作，看看她是否可以为他们提供额外的资源，比如咨询或长期经济援助。
In addition, Swanson-Hoye makes sure that the students know about the 威尼斯人娱乐城学生应急基金, the Roo储藏室 and other community services that may be able to provide long-term help. 她说，法学院的领导和行政部门预计学生将有更大的需求。
“Some students or their partners worked in the restaurant industry part-time and lost their jobs,” she says. “The unexpected loss hit them hard, so the emergency fund helped them make it.”
她说，寻求应急基金的学生有一个共同点，那就是当他们发现有应急基金时的反应。
“Relief! They have all been so grateful that we had funds that can be used to help them with immediate needs,” she says.
幸运的是，仍有资金可用。
“We continue to have requests and we want students who are facing emergency situations to reach out and use the funds,” she says. “Our goal is to support our students holistically. The emergency fund is just one piece of that.”
这种社区环境是戴维斯，白求恩和琼斯公司继续以多种形式支持学生成功的原因之一。
“My partners and I have enormous affection and respect for 威尼斯人娱乐城’s Law School,” Jones says. “We feel lucky to have been able to attend. Our experiences there as students and now as alums has inspired us to give back.”
To make a gift to the 威尼斯人娱乐城 法学院, 在线访问我们 or contact Marie Dispenza, J.D., at 威尼斯人娱乐城 Law Foundation, at 816-235-6328 or dispenzam@umkcfoundation.org.