In Michigan, a $2,500 grant to Macomb Community College’s (MCC) Bee Club means wildflowers and fruit trees soon will come to the college’s Center Campus. The grant comes from Bayer Corporation’s Feed a Bee forage initiative. The MCC Bee Club was organized in 2015 to provide opportunity for students and community members to help maintain the local bee population. The college also offers beekeeping classes, which teach students how to start and maintain bee hives.
“The planting of wildflowers and fruit trees nearby will assist in maintaining a strong bee population in our hives. Our goal is for the hives to survive through the winter,” said Jim Ford, who teaches the classes.
Florida
Miami Dade College (MDC) students enrolled at the Miami Animation and Gaming International Complex (MAGIC) will benefit from a $40,000 donation from Discovery Networks Latin America/U.S. Hispanic. The donation will be used for the Discovery Latin America Scholarship, which will be awarded to MAGIC students.
Massachusetts
Bunker Hill Community College’s (BHCC) One Solid Meal (OSM) program will help more hungry students thanks to a $14,000 Economic Mobility Grant from Bank of America Charitable Foundation. A recent study revealed that 56 percent of BHCC students experience food insecurity.
OSM began as a pilot during the spring 2016 semester to address that issue. During the pilot phase, 30 students received one cafeteria meal a day. All but one of those students completed the semester, and eight have graduated. With the new grant, BHCC can serve additional students on a waiting list for the program.
BHCC also recently received a $100,000 grant from Cummings Foundation’s $100K for 100 program. The funds will support the C-Town Business Pathways program, which provides Charlestown High School students an opportunity to earn up to 30 college credits at no cost toward an associate degree in business. The pilot program is a collaboration between BHCC, non-profit BUILD, Charlestown High and the Boston Private Industry Council.
North Carolina
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College has received a $5,000 grant by AT&T to improve digital literacy in Rowan County. RCCC developed a program to provide a range of training, from basic computer classes to courses on transitioning to cloud-based computing, Microsoft Online Office and using social media in a work search. Participants will receive a stamp in their virtual passport when they complete one of the trainings.
VGCC President Stelfanie Williams addresses a group gathered at VGCC’s South Campus to hear the announcement of a major strategic partnership between Siemens PLM Software and the college. (Photo: VGCC)
Vance-Granville Community College (VGCC) received an in-kind software grant from Siemens PLM Software. The software has a commercial value of $31 million and gives students access to the same technology used in industries such as automotive, aerospace, machinery, shipbuilding and high-tech electronics.
“By using the same technology in the classroom that is used by companies all over the world to develop a wide variety of products, our students gain important real-world experience during their studies that will serve them well after graduation,” VGCC President Stelfanie Williams said in a release.
Texas
College of the Mainland’s (COM) federal Upward Bound grant was renewed for another five years for $1.04 million. COM serves high schools where about 70 percent of students are considered at risk by the Texas Education Agency. Upward Bound serves COM students like Karol Paredes, who will attend Texas A&M Kingsville as a botany major. Paredes comes from a low-income, first-generation family.
“I honestly never thought I’d be going to a college before Upward Bound. The College of the Mainland Upward Bound Program opened doors for me. They gave me information about which colleges had programs I was looking for and about financial information,” Paredes said. “Upward Bound is a support system for me – it became my family.”
West Virginia
Pierpont Community & Technical College will use a $200,000 donation to keep programming fresh at the North Central Advanced Technology Center (ATC). The donation comes from the FirstEnergy Foundation. The goal of ATC is to give graduates the education and technical skills necessary to succeed in higher-wage jobs available in the medical, energy, chemical and information technology industries.
