On Monday, the Basic Needs Collective celebrated its first birthday with an outdoor party. The day was warm and included all the aspects of a traditional birthday party, such as balloons, cake and music. There were also many tables around the event advertising resources that students in need can use. University of Utah mascot Swoop made an appearance at the festivities and posed for photos with students. 

The Basic Needs Collective was founded just a year ago to connect students with different resource centers on campus at the U to fulfill their basic needs. Entities that are part of the collective include food assistance, legal help, academic help, childcare services, finances, COVID-19, transportation, and health and dental services. 

The event was put on to gain more traction, celebrate the one-year mark, and to show students that this resource is available to them. 

The event began with a statement by Dr. Mitzi Montoya, senior vice president for student affairs, who talked about how issues like food insecurity impacts students.

“A survey of students showed that nearly 40% of our students did not have enough food for the day on at least one occasion,” she said. “That’s really difficult if you think about how hard it would be to continue your studies and to care for yourself if that is your personal situation.” She added that the overall goal of the Basic Needs Collective is to support students’ well-being and success, whatever that means to the student. 

Vice President for Student Relations Lori McDonald was in attendance, and said, “The Basic Needs Collective is one of those really unique situations where all these different resources have come together to create this service. The collective is a one-stop shop and students then can get referrals to other areas of assistance.”

Debbie Adebunmi, a U graduate student from Nigeria studying healthcare administration, said the Basic Needs Collective helped her when she was in a vulnerable state after immigrating.

She praised the BNC for how they have helped her transition to the U. “They’ve always been there for me, and I don’t think that they can literally understand how they have been a blessing to myself, to my kids, and to my family as a whole but also to my mental health,” she said. “I’ve been to be able to stabilize myself. I’m going to go through a full-time graduate course, and take care of three children and just be really balanced.”

Sarah Elizabeth Garza-Levitt is the associate director of the Basic Needs Collective and gave a speech about what the anniversary means to her, after her experiences as a student.

“As a struggling college student for many years, taking 23 years to earn my first college degree — I have a deep understanding of basic needs insecurity and how it can impact a student’s success.” She continued, saying, “It’s from that place that we come together and share our stories, but also come from a strength-based perspective knowing that we can uphold and uplift each other and really support one another as we pursue our degrees and our educational dreams.”

As part of the birthday event, the collective asked for donations as “birthday presents.”  

The Basic Needs Collective is located in the basement of the Union. There is currently a thrift store pop-up where students can pick out donated clothing free of charge.

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@allisonchrony