Lincoln University students garnering more support, donations in their march for state funding
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Thirteen Lincoln University students sacrificed their weekend and their bodies by marching 66 miles from campus to the Pennsylvania state capital.
The students are demanding lawmakers approve $640 million in critical funding for four state-related universities with $19 million allocated for Lincoln.
On Sunday morning, the group was greeted by cheerful supporters as they crossed the State Street Bridge in Harrisburg.
The march stepped off Friday and the students received more than $7,000 in monetary donations from alumni, fraternities and nonprofit organizations to support their cause
But there were also donations from complete strangers who helped out along their journey.
"Moyers Furniture in Mt. Joy Pennsylvania -- the owner of it came out and she said 'What's the cause?' We told her about it and she went back into her establishment and she wrote a $500 check for us -- then and there. That's when it hit, I guess it hit me so clear that we had a movement behind us," one of the 13 students said.
"Last night our Airbnb was covered just cause she heard the cause and heard what we had going on and really supported us," another student said.
The students will hold a press conference in the Capitol Rotunda and sit down with members of the Pennsylvania Senate to strategize a plan to push the funding bill forward.
They're also proposing to elect a Lincoln University liaison to the state capital to prevent this funding freeze from happening in the future.