The Student Health Services office at UNC Pembroke has been awarded a $3,000 mini-grant for COVID-19 to promote vaccination and mitigation efforts on campus.

This grant is funded by the Campus COVID-19 Vaccination and Mitigation (CoVAC) Initiative Mini-Grant Program, an American College Health Association initiative.

This mini-grant program aims to support institutions in need of resources to develop, implement and maintain effective and innovative COVID-19 prevention and management strategies to reduce transmission of the virus on college campuses and the surrounding communities.

The grant will fund three student positions to assist with programming efforts. In addition, the funding will be used to purchase COVID-19 informational materials and promotional items to promote participation in educational programming on campus.

Jaelyn Wynn, assistant director of health promotion, says, “We are extremely grateful to receive this grant during these unprecedented times.”

“It is important now more than ever that we promote vaccination efforts on our campus, as the Omicron variant continues to spread rapidly across our county and our nation,” Wynn said. “This grant will allow us to educate our students on COVID-19, vaccines, and prevention efforts, and provide incentives for students who attend and participate in our programs.”

There are plans to host various campus events during the Spring 2022 semester to promote vaccination and mitigation efforts.

UNCP is the second UNC System university to be awarded this mini-grant, following Appalachian State University.