Help right now
Food, rent, a bill, a hold, a hard night. Start here.
All 8 →It almost never happens all at once.
It happens one thing at a time.
Before you drop out,
RReach out
EEngage your community
AAccess resources
CCare for your mental health
HHold on
by Esther Funds Foundation
Help, money and people for college students, in one place. Free. Always.
What REACH is
Five letters for the moment you want to quit.
REACH is Esther Funds Foundation’s student support. When school gets expensive, heavy or lonely, it puts help, money and people within reach, before a hard semester becomes the last one.
What R.E.A.C.H. stands for
Reach Out
Ask early. Help is available, and it is okay to reach for it before a challenge becomes a crisis.
Engage Your Community
College is also people. Connect to peers, campus offices, ambassadors, and community support.
Access Resources
Scholarships, financial aid, SNAP, food pantries, tutoring, and support routes exist to be used.
Care for Your Mental Health
You deserve support before you are at your limit. In a crisis, call or text 988.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline ↗Hold On
Every completed semester is a victory. You are not behind. You are building.
Everything, organized
Pick a door.
57 tools, guides and lifelines, sorted by what’s going on. Or see them all on one page.
Pay for school
Scholarships checked every morning, EFF's own awards, and aid made plain.
All 16 →Stay enrolled
Holds, appeals, grades, transcripts: fight for your seat before you give it up.
All 7 →Mind & heart
You don't have to hold it alone. Rest, talk, pray, breathe.
All 5 →Career & income
Build the résumé, practice the interview, earn while you learn.
All 6 →Family & friends
For the people in your corner, and for being someone's.
All 6 →Lead & give
Be the reason someone else stays.
All 9 →My REACH
One account. Every application.
Apply for EFF’s own scholarships and emergency funding, upload what’s asked, and watch your application move, all in one place. No password: just your email and a code.
- 1Type your email, then the code we send.
- 2Apply when EFF opens a scholarship or funding.
- 3Follow it here. EFF emails you when there’s news.
Why REACH exists
Real students. Real pressure. Real support.
“Most students don’t leave school because they aren’t capable. They leave because life becomes too expensive, too heavy, and too isolating.” EFF, 15 June 2026 ↗
The REACH Box
A box with a route beyond it.
Free care packages with essentials, resources, and a note that says the thing students most need to hear: someone cares about you.
- 01Food and hydration items
- 02Hygiene and laundry essentials
- 03Academic tools and encouragement
- 04REACH merch and practical supports
- 05Printed resources: SNAP, campus pantry, 988, financial aid, scholarships and study tips
Where deliveries stand
On 3 September 2026 EFF paused delivery of new REACH Boxes while it reviews fulfillment. REACH itself is not paused, and a box the Foundation already confirmed is still on its way.
Enrolled and facing an urgent food emergency? Use the Emergency Food Request ↗. For local food and community help today, call or visit 211 ↗. EFF’s update ↗
Student leaders in action
Be the reason someone stays.
REACH Ambassadors bring care, resources and connection to campus. Host a REACH workshop, lead a drive, or give to a student’s next step.
The story so far
One question: how do we keep students from dropping out?
0+students reached out for support
0+colleges sent applications
0REACH Boxes in the first wave
0student ambassadors stepped up
As EFF posted on 15 June 2026. See the post ↗
Introducing REACH
A national student support movement: reach, engage, access, care, hold on.
post ↗211 students were waiting
They applied for a REACH Box, but their campus had no ambassador to get it to them.
post ↗Day 1
The food for the first 300 REACH care boxes moved into the distribution space.
post ↗Round One
Nine campuses for the first wave: Southern University and A&M College, Prairie View A&M, Norfolk State, Howard, Alabama A&M, Florida A&M, Xavier University of Louisiana, Jackson State and UNC Greensboro.
post ↗The REACH Warehouse
An empty storage unit became a space dedicated to keeping students enrolled. The same day, WALB News told the story.
post ↗The first REACH Box
“One box down. Thousands more futures to fulfill.”
post ↗22 states
REACH Ambassadors were serving in 22 states, with all 50 as the goal.
post ↗The REACH Action Hub
One place for scholarships, emergency support, a stay-enrolled plan and next steps. This website.
post ↗Packages on their way
EFF finished shipping its REACH Encouragement Packages, and 65 ambassadors received their shirts.
post ↗New deliveries paused, REACH is not
New box deliveries paused for a fulfillment review; an Emergency Food Request opened for urgent needs.
post ↗Free recommendation letters
Scholarship recommendation letters, free, through REACH.
post ↗Students serving students
The EFF chapter at UNC Greensboro hosted a REACH Workshop and packed free care packages for their campus.
post ↗
You are seen.
You are supported.
You are not alone.