March Shared Offering: We DREAM, We Act Scholarship Fund

This scholarship fund was established in an effort to provide financial relief to successful undocumented students at the University of Illinois. It is sponsored by La Colectiva, a non-profit student-run organization affiliated with the University Y. The organization was founded to address the various issues that undocumented students face on campus. Aware of the changing demographics in Champaign County, La Colectiva then made a philosophical change to move out of the “campus bubble” and engage with the immigrant community in Champaign-Urbana. Toward this end, La Colectiva has provided mentoring programs for Latino high school students and helped to establish La Linea Latina, a local immigrant helpline. La Colectiva is a collaborative partner with other immigration rights groups in the CU community. Although a national DREAM Act (Developmental, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) did not make it through the U.S. Congress, Illinois did pass its own version in 2011, recognizing the rights of undocumented youth to invest in their education. The goal of the We DREAM, We Act Scholarship is to award financial assistance to worthy students at the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University.