With a $109,375 state Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Education Grant, Southwest Wisconsin Technical College can strengthen EMS training opportunities.
The grant supports Wisconsin technical colleges in advancing emergency medical responder, EMT, advanced EMT and paramedic education while increasing institutional capacity and aligning with workforce needs.
According to the college’s grant application, 72% of the 50 EMS providers in Southwest Tech’s district are fully volunteer, compared to 41% statewide.
“Everybody is looking for EMS help. We have squads that are running bare minimum crews,” said Kris Schoville, academic lead and medical assistant director/instructor at Southwest Tech.
Many rural departments are struggling as longtime volunteers retire without enough new providers stepping in, Schoville said.
“People are getting old, and they’re retiring out and there’s nobody to replace them,” she said. “That’s making it really hard. It’s going to be huge if we can increase new EMTs.”
The funding will support instructor training, the cost of seven open-enrollment EMS refresher courses this semester, one contracted refresher course for Shullsburg at no cost to the community, equipment upgrades and expanded outreach efforts.
“Our goal is to increase our class offerings throughout our district and increase our instructor load, because we can’t teach what we don’t have teachers for,” Schoville said. “If we’re going to increase that, we also have to increase supplies and equipment for them to teach with.”
And, recognizing that most EMS providers are volunteers balancing full-time jobs and family responsibilities, the college is expanding flexible course offerings.
Kentucky
The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) Foundation has received a $100,000 gift from the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels to continue supporting scholarships for parenting students enrolled at KCTCS colleges.
This contribution brings the organization’s lifetime giving to $1.8 million, supporting the Better Life Scholarship, which has helped more than 500 parent students pursue education and workforce credentials while balancing family responsibilities.
“I packed up two laundry baskets and moved into an unfinished basement with my three girls to escape the situation I was in,” shared one Better Life Scholarship recipient. “I started from the ground up and saved for months to get my life back on track. Now I am pursuing a nursing degree, and I know that I will find a way to make it work because I want to make a better life for myself and my kids.”
New York
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced recently the expansion of childcare services at 11 State University of New York (SUNY) community colleges to better assist student parents enrolled in high-demand programs.
The selected colleges will receive grants to support the SUNY Child Care Expansion Initiative. Among them is SUNY Westchester Community College, which will use $186,375 to modify its Virginia Marx Children’s Center, including converting a preschool classroom into a new infant classroom. The project will increase the number of infant care slots available to student parents, one of the most pressing childcare needs for parent students.
Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) also will receive $186,375 as part of the initiative. The investment “will allow us to create highly flexible, part-time spots in our childcare center specifically for adult students with families, expanding opportunities for students in need of childcare,” said TC3 President Amy Kremenek.
The state initiative furthers the goals of SUNY Reconnect, which provides free college tuition, fees, books and supplies for adults ages 25 to 55 who don’t have a college degree and want to pursue an associate degree in a high-demand field.
North Carolina
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (A-B Tech) has received $1.04 million in grant support to prepare high school students for high-paying jobs in western North Carolina.
The college is using $750,000 from the North Carolina GSK Foundation and $299,338 from the Dogwood Health Trust to fund the creation of Asheville-Buncombe-Madison (ABM) Works. The program will connect local high school students with internships, pre-apprenticeships and career-focused training in high-demand industries.
Debbie Cromwell, A-B Tech’s director of work-based learning, said ABM Works is based on the successful Surry-Yadkin Works, North Carolina’s first multi-county work-based learning program.
“It is a unified ‘grow your own’ approach to meeting local workforce needs in collaboration with local employers and others to increase economic stability in our region,” Cromwell said.
ABM Works initially will focus on healthcare, early childhood education, advanced manufacturing and skilled trades sectors. The college is hiring more staff to assist high schools and meeting with several partners, including school systems, local governments and the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board.
“The goal is to build an inclusive, employer-informed talent pipeline that keeps skilled graduates in the region and supports long-term economic growth,” Cromwell said.
Pennsylvania
Reading Area Community College’s (RACC) dual-enrollment program got a boost with a $15,000 contribution from Tompkins Community Bank. The funds were raised through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program.
“Through the annual EITC contributions provided by Tompkins Community Bank to the Foundation for RACC, hundreds of ambitious students have had the opportunity to begin their college education while still in high school,” RACC President Susan Looney said in a release. “These students and their families have collectively saved tens of thousands of dollars in future college costs because of Tompkins’ generosity and commitment to expanding access to higher education.”
Virginia
Rappahannock Community College (RCC) has received a $2,000 Nourishing our Neighbors grant from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation to support the college’s food pantries.
College officials have seen an increase in food pantry visitors over the past year.
“Every donation helps and we are grateful to our community partners like Food Lion,” said Kelly Clifton, who chairs RCC’s food insecurity committee.
