Florida
Tallahassee Community College (TCC) students in healthcare programs will benefit from several recent gifts to the college. A $500,000 gift from the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) Foundation will support student scholarships. The staff at TMH includes many TCC alumni.
“This is a way for us to be a good partner in our community and to invest in our future as an organization, because we want highly educated, highly prepared professionals to come to work for us,” said Mickey Moore, president and chief advancement officer of the TMH Foundation.
Rick and Melissa Moore donated $10,000 to create the first scholarship for TCC’s newly accredited bachelor of science in nursing degree program. Nan and Mark Hillis are also supporting nursing students with a gift of $10,000. Scott and Allison Harrell made a $10,000 gift to create a scholarship, this one for students in any of TCC’s healthcare programs. And Capital Regional Medical Center (CRMC) invested $32,000 to create scholarships for students seeking an associate degree in nursing at TCC and employment at CRMC after graduation.
TCC also received a $50,000 donation from Wayne and Betty Edwards to use for tuition assistance for students who have diabetes. Betty Edwards and the couple’s oldest son both have type 1 diabetes, and the family is aware of the challenges that come with that diagnosis. The gift will be matched by Larry Deeb, a pediatric endocrinologist, and his wife, Jo Deeb, bringing the endowment for the Wayne & Betty Edwards Scholarship for Students with Diabetes to $100,000.
New Jersey
Bergen Community College’s reputation as a hub for aviation education has further been solidified thanks to a donation of an airplane. Woody Saland personally constructed the “Onex,” a 16-foot, single-seat plane, from a kit produced by Sonex Aircraft. Completion took 1,500 hours over two years. But, after 40 hours of flight time, Saland wanted to donate it to an organization that could benefit from his handiwork.
Students will use the plane for hands-on training in instrumentation, engineering and repair, complementing the skills learned in the college’s flight simulators and avionics courses. It’ll also serve as a showpiece for the aviation program and for the college.
The aircraft is valued at $65,000. Saland also donated a trailer to transport the airplane.
Texas
San Jacinto College (SJC) received a $30,000 donation from Perry Homes for student scholarships. The funds will go into the Perry Homes Endowed Scholarship. Scholarships are awarded to students studying constructions management and drafting. To date, Perry Homes has donated $132,500 to SJC for student scholarships.
Washington
Big Bend Community College (BBCC) used funds donated by the community, faculty, the BBCC Veteran’s Club and the Associated Student Body to buy two Frigidaire freezers for the Viking Food Pantry.
“These two freezers will allow the Viking Food Pantry to store and provide an even greater amount, and variety, of food to our students who are in need of a little help,” said Matt Killebrew, a spokesperson for the college.
