Centennial College offers online guide to money-saving resources

While ongoing affordability challenges have affected Canadians in different ways, postsecondary students are statistically among those who continue to be hardest hit.
Recognizing this, Centennial College has taken action to make it easier for students to quickly access resources that can help ease financial pressures through an online portal known as Stretch Your Dollars. The goal is to take away some of the external stress students may be facing so they can focus on their studies ─ whether they’re learning how to maintain electric vehicles, or tending to “patients” in a nursing lab that recreates a hospital floor both in person and virtually.
Centennial College Associate Vice President and Dean of Students, David Ip Yam, says Stretch Your Dollars is designed to help students maximize their resources and make their money go further during these tough times.
“The idea for Stretch Your Dollars emerged in 2022 when rising inflation was hitting hard. National data showed that students were among the most vulnerable to these rising costs,” he said, pointing to a recent survey as an example that shows 56.8 per cent of postsecondary students across Canada were experiencing food insecurity in 2021, nearly double the amount from 2016.
“It’s really startling when you think about more than half of students are facing food insecurity and a lot of that due to financial insecurity. These figures were even higher for marginalized communities, many of whom are part of Centennial’s student population.”
With students facing increasing financial pressures, Ip Yam says the College needed to take action.
“We consulted with students and what they said is, ‘One of the things we need is a way to understand the supports and resources available — how do I find them, how do I get connected?’” Ip Yam explained. “So we brought services together and, along with our incredible partners at our Student Association, the CCSAI, we created this resource — Stretch Your Dollars.”
Centennial College offers a variety of bursaries and scholarships, including providing non-repayable funds to help with specific needs, like childcare, or the new Student Access and Hardship Fund, which offers assistance to students facing significant financial hardship who’ve exhausted all other resources.
There are also several scholarships specific to Indigenous learners. The first, established by his family and fundraised to being an endowment, is the Joseph McQuabbie Memorial Scholarship named in honour of the first Indigenous Outreach Coordinator at Centennial College and a proud Anishinaabe. The scholarship is dedicated to Indigenous students to assist with expenses during their postsecondary studies, particularly those who are enrolled in Indigenous focused programs or Police Foundations. The second, established in partnership with the Centennial College Student Association (CCSAI) and the Eighth Fire area within the Place of Reconciliation for All Our Relations, is the Ka-naadmaadmi Bursary, which translates to “we will help each other” in the Wiikwemkoong dialect of Anishnaabemowin and is a low access bursary that is available year-round for Indigenous students for $2,000 each.
Among the programs offered through Stretch Your Dollars is an initiative called Cook’n Feed, which was launched by the Learning Enterprise and School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts and is run by students for students.
“Cook’n Feed makes a real difference for students who are struggling with food insecurity, while also fostering a more sustainable approach to food production,” Ip Yam said. “Our team repurposes surplus, unused ingredients from our culinary and baking labs to create nutritious meals, which are then offered back to students at our Café, called The Local Café and Restaurant, for just $1 or $2 each.”
Students are able to purchase these meals Friday afternoons at The Local Café, located at Centennial’s flagship Progress Campus.
Stretch Your Dollars also offers students resources to help them navigate the rental market through its new Centennial Housing Service, which provides information on both off-campus housing options and official college housing in the heart of Centennial College Progress Campus, Centennial Place.
On a smaller scale, Centennial College offers students ways to save money on parking with its Flex Exit Passes and, when it comes to purchasing textbooks, there are cheaper alternatives, like buying or renting new or used books or digital downloads.
Ip Yam says every detail — big or small — included in Stretch Your Dollars is centred on supporting the personal and professional growth of Centennial’s students.
“While we can’t eliminate the financial burdens facing students, we do strive to alleviate them by embedding these supports into our services, helping students to manage life events that affect their finances and creating the conditions they need to thrive at Centennial College and beyond.”
By promoting well-being, both emotional and financial, Centennial is working to ensure students have everything they need to complete their programs and graduate ready to succeed in their careers.
To learn more, visit centennialcollege.ca.