$1,154,116 was granted to Lamar University (LU), in partnership with the Rebuild Texas Fund, to establish the “LU Strong Center for Hurricane Harvey Assistance” as well as the Qatar Harvey Fund Scholarship program to support students affected by Hurricane Harvey. LU and the surrounding Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange area suffered considerable damage from Harvey-related flooding and the impact on residents was severe –an estimated 110,000 structures were flooded, leading to the complete failure of Beaumont’s water system, which serves more than 120,000 area residents.

The Golden Triangle area that surrounds Lamar University, and constitutes the largest source of the student population, had some of the greatest impact from storm.

The LU Strong Center for Hurricane Harvey Assistance will provide centralized services for students struggling to recover from the impact of Hurricane Harvey, including counseling support and referrals for on and off-campus mental health services, emergency grants and scholarships to ensure students persist in their academic pursuits, connections to social service supports, and resilience training and support for recovering and meeting future disasters. The Qatar Harvey Fund Scholarship program will provide up to 527 scholarships to LU students still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Harvey.

Status: Project was completed in August 2020 with 371 scholarships awarded and 82 students receiving mental health services related to Hurricane Harvey.

100% of funds have been disbursed.

“We’re grateful to the Qatar Harvey Fund, the State of Qatar and the Rebuild Texas Fund. They recognized our efforts to serve those in need. Their generosity will change students’ lives,” said Lamar University’s Vice Provost for Digital Learning, Division of Distance Learning, Brenda Nichols. “It’s a step in the right direction to get us back where we were pre-Harvey and put funds in the hands of those who really need it to recover and get their lives back on track.”