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| Streamers fly through the air (above) as SCC president Dr. Don Tomas (below) announces the completion of the Student Success Campaign's "March to a Million." |
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Southwestern Community College’s annual Bluegrass, Blue Jeans & Bling gala is always a celebration of students and scholarships.
This year, it mixed in a little history.
Before the night was over, streamers soared over the crowd of college supporters who’d gathered to help push the SCC Foundation across the finish line in its “March to a Million” effort.
Dr. Don Tomas, president of SCC, announced around 9:15 p.m. that silent auction sales had pushed the Student Success Campaign total over the $1 million mark, giving the college its first seven-figure endowment to be used primarily for scholarships.
“This truly has been a community effort,” Dr. Tomas said. “Rather than just having a handful of large donations, we’ve literally had hundreds of different individuals, organizations and businesses step forward to support this campaign. These donors believe in SCC, and – most importantly – they believe in our students.”
Launched in 2013 with the help of a U.S. Department of Education challenge grant, the Student Success Campaign aims to bridge the gap between scholarship need and availability at SCC.
“Before the Student Success Campaign, SCC’s largest single endowment was $338,641 – a figure that’s actually quite impressive for a school Southwestern’s size,” said Charles Wolfe, chairman of the Student Success Campaign. “Thanks to so many wonderful people in our community, we’ve taken scholarship support to a whole new level.”
Back in 2012, the SCC Foundation only had enough resources to award scholarships to 32 students who qualified.
This year, the number of scholarship recipients increased to 69.
“Now that we’ve reached the million-dollar goal, we’ll be able to help more students than ever before thanks to the many generous donors who supported the Student Success Campaign,” said Brett Woods, director of the SCC Foundation. “Over the past few years of working at SCC, I’ve gotten to know a lot of our students. These are hard-working people with big dreams, and it is a privilege to be able to give them the boost they need.”
Final figures from Saturday night likely won’t be tabulated for at least another week, but SCC officials are confident this year’s gala will eclipse the $63,000 raised at last year’s event.
For more information about SCC and the Student Success Campaign, contact Kathy Posey at 828.339.4227 or k_posey@southwesterncc.edu.
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| Above: SCC student Lilly Coleman of Cullowhee addresses the crowd during the Bluegrass, Blue Jeans & Bling gala Saturday at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort. Below: Dr. Don Tomas, president of SCC, stands in front of a big screen announcing the college’s first $1 million endowment to be used primarily for scholarships. The Student Success Campaign completed its “March to a Million” during the Bluegrass, Blue Jeans & Bling gala Saturday at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort. |
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