California
Fresno City College students will benefit from a $155,000 donation from the Progressive Home Club, a women’s organization in Fresno. The funds are going toward scholarships. On top of that, the State Center Community College Foundation will match the donation for a total of $310,000.
Florida
Florida SouthWestern State College received a $300,000 gift from the Schulze Family Foundation. The donation will fund scholarships for students studying early childhood education or nursing.
Tallahassee Community College’s (TCC) fundraising campaign got a boost with a $500,000 gift from real estate firm Student Housing Solutions. It will fund scholarships and student activities. Since 2007, Student Housing Solutions has given TCC more than $430,000 in support of athletics programs and for housing scholarships for international students.
TCC also announced that McKenzie Tank Lines, a national trucking company, donated two tank trailers valued at $28,000. The trailers will be used in the college’s new commercial vehicle driving program.
SunTrust Bank invested $25,000 toward the renovation of a classroom in the Business, Industry and Technology Division at TCC. Municode Educational Trust is providing $18,000 for scholarships for children of Municode employees. And Todd and Jodi Sperry donated $25,000 to support a scholarship for students in the building and construction program. The scholarship is named in honor of Todd Sperry’s late father, Donald B. Sperry, who founded the construction firm Sperry and Associates.
Illinois
Oakton Community College (OCC) will create 25 new student scholarships using a $75,000 donation from Rivers Casino. A portion of the donation also will help with construction costs for a new student center. Since 2013, Rivers Casino has offered $298,000 in scholarships to Oakton students. It also donated $70,000 to support OCC’s Margaret Burke Lee Science and Health Careers Center.
Massachusetts
North Shore Community College will use a $150,000 grant to create a new dual-enrollment program. The grant comes from the Gateway to College National Network with funding from the Barr Foundation’s education program. NSCC will create its own Gateway to College program to help high school students at risk of not graduating. The college has already had success with early college programs.
“One of our strengths is giving our students a lot of personalized support to ensure their success and completion, which will extend to this new initiative,” NSCC President Patricia A. Gentile said.
North Carolina
Cape Fear Community College received a $3,500 donation from the Got-Em-On Live Bait Club to support the marine technology program. The club’s president, Butch Martin, believes the donation will help efforts to preserve local wetlands.
“We want our children and our grandchildren to enjoy the beautiful fishing landscapes we have, and Cape Fear Community College is fantastic at training students to preserve fisheries. The more the college does for our local environment, the more we want to give,” Martin said in a release.
