PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — First Lady Jill Biden and other officials put Philadelphia in a national spotlight this week, as the U.S. Department of Education recently awarded the Community College of Philadelphia part of the final national distribution of COVID-19 pandemic relief fund education grants.
The last grouping of grants totaled $198 million nationally, and was awarded as part of the American Rescue Plan. 244 total educational institutions received grants this week.
"These funds were reserved for institutions with the greatest unmet needs, to ensure that they could stay open, keep students enrolled and help them stay on track to graduate,” said Biden.
She added that they reserved about 100 Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grants for community colleges in this final round of awards.
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CCP President Guy Generals said the millions of dollars they have received in grants during the pandemic helped offset students’ burdens. They helped more than 5,000 students with payoffs of outstanding balances, and more than 17,000 CCP students received aid for emergencies related to tuition, food, housing, health care, and child care.
"The dollars that were provided through the American Rescue Plan made an absolute difference in the lives of our students, our institutions, as well as our communities,” said Generals.
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“Some of our students over the course of the year were able to graduate, and they are now contributing members to our communities."
In total, Pennsylvania colleges and universities received nearly $2.7 billion through the HEERF grant program. New Jersey universities and colleges took in more than $1.8 billion in grants, with Delaware’s receiving about $241 million.