After Michael Moore's Plea, College Nearly Secures $20k in Donations

Just a few days after Michael Moore -- the community has done it. Almost.

Last Thursday, Moore spoke to a crowd at Bunker Hill as part of a book tour for his latest release, a memoir.

Before the talk, he echoed a plea from Thomas Saltonstall, the college's director of diversity, urging the crowd to chip in to the emergency assistance fund. The fund offers cash to students who find themselves forced to choose between meeting their basic needs and attending school.

"If you could please put some money in the envelope tonight, I will match it dollar-for-dollar," Moore told the audience. "If we can raise up to $10,000 tonight, I will donate, and we can raise $20,000, or almost 10 percent of what they said they've given away since 2009. And we'll be the ones who have done it, right here."

Donations are nearly there. As of Monday afternoon, the school was $850 shy of raising the full $10,000 for Moore's matching donation. But BHCC President Mary L. Fifield said, "We are securing commitments from others, so we are positive we will meet the $10,000 benchmark."

If you want to help BHCC reach the $10,000 mark and collect the $10,000 grant from Moore, donations can be sent to: the BHCC Foundation, Inc. to Anne Hyde, Executive Director, BHCC Foundation, Inc., 250 New Rutherford Avenue, Suite C-304, Boston, MA 02129. Online donations may be made by visiting www.bhcc.mass.edu/foundation.

Moore wrote about the event on his own blog. You can read about it here. (Forgive him for basically saying Charlestown is the same thing as South Boston, a mistake so many have made.)