Rutgers University School of Nursing has received a $1 million gift from the Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF to provide scholarships and emergency support, including “resource rooms” that will offer life essentials like food and supplies for nursing students in need.

“These funds will help our future nurses in countless ways—everything from tuition to basic necessities to peace of mind,” says Angela Starkweather (PhD, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN), dean and professor at the School of Nursing, which is part of Rutgers Health and has campuses in Newark, New Brunswick, and Blackwood, New Jersey. “At a time when our state and nation face a nursing shortage, we couldn’t be more grateful for this partnership which will enable more students to follow this important vocation.”

The gift, which is from a donor-advised fund that the Bedford Falls Foundation advises, will establish the Joanne and William Conway Nursing Scholarship and the Joanne Barkett Conway Fund. The funds honor the foundation’s cofounder and cochairman William “Bill” E. Conway Jr. and his late wife, Joanne.

Based in McLean, Virginia, the Bedford Falls Foundation focuses its philanthropy on nursing education, among other areas, seeking to “remove barriers to a high-quality nursing education and address the critical nursing workforce shortage.” Its name was inspired by the town in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, a nod to the good luck the Conways experienced in their own lives. (Coincidentally, the movie was based on the short story “The Greatest Gift,” written by a 1924 Rutgers alumnus, Philip Van Doren Stern.)

“Nurses are essential to our nation’s health,” Bill Conway says. “We are honored to partner with Rutgers University’s School of Nursing and support students who go on to support our communities, their families, and the rest of us as nurses. We believe in them.”