Photo courtesy BYU-Idaho Student Alumni Association
Kristi Bates, a senior from Idaho Falls, works as a volunteer for the Student Legacy Endowment, calling students asking for donations.

Student Legacy Endowment – students helping students

Darcy Anderson AND02005@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

Most students feel like they are poor. We’ve all had weeks when Ramen noodles weren’t just an option for lunch — they were the only option.

But, in that same “poor” week, many of us have had a moment of weakness when the temptation to buy a $5 hot-n-ready pizza was just too tough to pass up, and we didn’t think twice about paying the few extra dollars.

Liz Jacobson knows a few students who understand what it means to really be poor. Jacobson, who works in the Financial Aid office, interviews students who are in need of emergency financial assistance from the Student Legacy Endowment.

Brett Sampson of LDS Philanthropies interviewed her for the 2003 Summit Magazine, and they had an experience that both will likely remember for years to come. Sampson related the following:

“As Liz and I talked in my office, one of the secretaries came in and asked if Liz could step out for a moment. She did and came back with a shy grin. Apparently she had approved giving a young man money to buy a coat the day before. All the money he and his parents could spare was used getting him to school, and he didn’t have a winter coat. ‘He was freezing to death,’ she said. ‘Nine degrees and no coat.’ So he tracked her down to thank her and ask if he could give her a hug.”

Each semester, students with similar needs benefit from SLE. Patterned after other Church programs like the Perpetual Education Fund, SLE helps students who have no other means to remedy their financial troubles.

“Many students feel like they’ve got it tough,” Sampson said. “But I know of people who have lived in their cars and have slipped through the system. They have lived on little food and didn’t tell anybody.”

Students who receive funding from SLE either come to Jacobson’s office to express a need, or someone who is aware of their situation refers them to her. She meets with the candidates and asks them to tell her about their finances. Together they decide what amount is appropriate for their need.

As soon as students are back on their feet, they are asked to give back to the fund the amount they borrowed — plus a little extra, if possible — to help out others as they were helped.

The bulk of SLE funds come from student donations, Sampson said. The Student Alumni Association hosts an annual telefund to benefit SLE, which begins Nov.1. Student volunteers will make calls, asking for donations from students who are willing to give what they can.

“All the things we stand for as Christians are embodied in SLE,” Sampson said. “I don’t know of a more pure example of what Christ taught as far as giving goes. It’s the essence of the gospel — it’s loving one another.”

The fund’s spiritual impact is apparent in those who have received SLE funding. Jacobson often receives letters from former students that have benefited from the fund. They are the evidence that SLE truly makes a difference in the lives of those who donate and those who receive.

“The impact is truly amazing when you give to this program,” notes Jacobson. “I can think of no finer way to bless the lives of young people who are in need of just a little assistance. And, in the end, it’s not just this one student who is blessed but an entire family — for generations.”