California’s San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) has received nearly $100,000 in state grants in support of emergency pantry services at City, Mesa and Miramar Colleges. Each week, SDCCD colleges provides emergency food to hundreds of students who would otherwise go hungry. Colleges will use the funds to augment food pantries on campus.
City College is earmarking its entire amount of nearly $33,000 to buy non-perishable food. Mesa College will use its nearly $41,000 to bolster its partnership with Feeding San Diego. Miramar College will spend its more than $20,000 to expand the size of its pantry, as well as purchase food for the hungry.
The allocations come from $2.5 million in state funds the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office is allotting to more than 60 campuses to fight student hunger.
Mississippi
Pearl River Community College (PRCC) will soon get some new advanced manufacturing equipment thanks to $247,266 in funding from the state of Mississippi and the Mississippi Works fund. The equipment will be installed and functional by the end of April.
Pennsylvania
With a new grant from Mascaro Construction, CCBC will create the Mascaro Construction High School Academy. (Photo: CCBC)
Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) will use a $500,000 gift from Mascaro Construction to create the Mascaro Construction Academy. CCBC will build on the success and best practices of its High School Academies to provide a multi-pronged approach to closing the construction skills gap. Learning will be tailored to meet the needs of industry and students will be engaged at multiple levels during their educational journey.
“This new partnership between Mascaro Construction and CCBC is uniquely and powerfully positioned to help address the challenges facing the construction industry today, to motivate students, and provide workforce-ready education that will develop the pipeline of talent our region needs in the future,” said CCBC President Chris Reber.
CCBC’s Mascaro Construction Academy will enroll students from participating school districts and the region’s career and technology centers to offer a blended curriculum that allows students to complete up to 30 college credits before high school graduation. Over the course of two years, students will take technical and general education courses that prepare them for construction management and leadership roles.
Texas
Richland College received a $523,089 Skills Development Fund grant from the Texas Workforce Commission to train 197 IT employees for the city of Richardson’s first IT Consortium, which comprises several local companies. Employees will receive training that ranges from specific software applications to accounting to customer service and more. The grant also will add 21 new jobs to the IT Consortium companies.
“This training, delivered by Richland College Garland Campus, empowers employees through enhanced skill development and provides the companies with a competitive edge in an ever-changing global IT market,” said Richland College President Kathryn K. Eggleston.
Virginia
Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) students in the Adult Career Pathways program (ACP) will benefit from a $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. The college will use the funds to help defray costs associated with certification testing for students in the ACP program.
The ACP program offers adult students a structured support system to help them navigate the unique challenges that adults face while attending college. ACP creates a pathway for adult learners to earn a certificate, associate degree or other credentials that may help them get a better job, leading to more economic security.
“Many individuals initially enter the workforce not knowing what career paths might be available to them until many years later. The same holds for new Americans who migrate to this country with hopes of finding their own unique path,” NVCC President Scott Ralls said in a release. “There are also individuals who personally feel the impact of a fast-changing economy; where jobs that once guaranteed a family-supporting career are limited.” The college’s ACP program was designed with all these potential students in mind, he said.
