PEMBROKE 一 UNC Pembroke and Berea Baptist Church hosted a steak plate sale fundraiser Friday to strong community support according to organizers.

Last year, Chancellor Robin G. Cummings had to disenroll nearly 500 students for lack of payment. Some of those were incoming first-year students who couldn’t afford to start. Others were rising seniors on the brink of graduating, just a few hundred dollars short of a degree.

When Cummings announced this in a speech on Aug. 16, alongside the news that the projected numbers were around the same this year, his wife, First Lady Rebecca Cummings, decided to take action.

“I reached out to a few of my friends,” said Mrs. Cummings, “sending them letters and texts. People are always willing to help the community, and I asked them if they would be willing to give a small donation or whatever they could, and it turned into something much greater than I thought it would be.”

Mrs. Cummings and her friends had to work quickly, as the deadline for students to pay off the last of their tuition is midnight on Aug. 28. The plate sale came together in six days.

Chancellor Cummings said that before the dinner, awareness spread fast, and the university raised $117,500 to go toward student debt and allow more students to continue their education.

A portion of the funds raised from the dinner will cover the expenses associated with the meal, but the rest will be placed into a pot to help cover the expenses of students in need, according to Chancellor Cummings.

“We bought 1,500 steaks, which is 1,500 plates, at $25 each,” he said, “Roughly, the total intake will be $40,000.”

Chancellor Cummings predicted that about a fourth of the expected profit would be allocated to paying for the costs associated with hosting a lunch sale.

The community was energized to act, according to volunteer Ray Scott.

“It’s been tough,” Scott said, “we’ve been extremely busy since Monday. We had roughly 40 people [on Wednesday night] coming together to make the salads, wrap the potatoes and season the meats.”

Several of the volunteers were alums of UNCP and found themselves drawn to help others achieve what they had.

“After my grandfather passed,” said Volunteer Patrick Dial, “My grandmother having her education enabled her to have a foundation for her family. Through that education, she encouraged my mother and her sisters.”

Dial, his sister, and his daughter are all alumni of UNCP; four generations of his family have received degrees from the university.

“Without this college, my family would have suffered traumatically and been on a whole different course,” Dial said.

The success and community support for the plate sale caused Chancellor Cummings to consider doing this annually. He said he plans to discuss it with other coordinators and figure out the best way to do it.

Chancellor Cummings said the funds raised through this event will make a noticeable difference in disenrollment numbers, though they will not cover every student. He said the funds would first be distributed to students with $1,000 owed or less, as that would ensure that most students would be able to continue their education.

UNCP accepts donations year-round, but those interested in contributing to this year’s fundraiser can donate at https://braveweb.uncp.edu/opay/give.