The BPCC Foundation has received a $7,000 grant from the Red River Credit Union Gives Foundation to expand the reach of BPCC’s Cavalier Care Center and help students overcome basic-needs barriers that can interfere with their education.
The Cavalier Care Center currently operates on Bossier Parish Community College’s Bossier Campus, providing students with food, personal care items and connections to additional resources. The grant will help extend these services to students at the Natchitoches and Sabine Valley campuses, expanding access to essential support across all three BPCC locations.
Grant funds will be used to provide food and snack items, grab-and-go meals, sandwiches and other prepared foods for students. The funding will also support the purchase of equipment needed to safely store, organize, transport and distribute food, including refrigerators, freezers, shelving, storage bins, crates, carts and dollies.
“This generous investment will allow us to reach more students and respond more effectively when they are facing difficult circumstances,” said Sandra Roberson, director of the Cavalier Care Center. “We are deeply grateful to the Red River Credit Union Gives Foundation for recognizing that meeting a student’s basic needs can make the difference between that student stepping away from college and continuing toward graduation. This support sends a powerful message to our students that their community believes in them and wants to see them succeed.”
Because food insecurity is often only one part of a student’s financial hardship, the grant will also provide targeted assistance through the Cavalier Care Center’s Dire Need Fund. The fund assists students facing urgent and unexpected circumstances that could affect their ability to remain enrolled.
The impact of the investment extends beyond the immediate assistance provided. By addressing basic needs as they arise, the Cavalier Care Center helps students remain in class, participate in required activities, complete their coursework and continue making progress toward graduation.
Through the expansion of services across BPCC’s Bossier, Natchitoches and Sabine Valley campuses, the Cavalier Care Center will be better equipped to connect students with essential resources and help remove barriers to their academic success.