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Representatives of the Community Services of Swain County (CSSC), Inc., recently gave $2,500 to the Student Success Campaign at SCC. Pictured here are, from left: Mike Treadway, CSSC treasurer; Ken Mills, CSSC president; Ann Marie Wright, CSSC secretary; Mary Otto Selzer, director of SCC Foundation; and Charles Wolfe, Student Success Campaign chair. |
Citing a desire to maximize their donation through a federal challenge grant, representatives of the Community Services of Swain County (CSSC), Inc., recently gave $2,500 to Southwestern Community College’s Student Success Campaign.
An effort to bridge the gap between scholarship need and availability, the Student Success Campaign is the most ambitious fundraising effort to date by the SCC Foundation. Mary Otto Selzer, director of the SCC Foundation, said the campaign aims to raise more than $1 million before Sept. 30, 2014.
The challenge grant, through the U.S. Department of Education, matches every dollar (up to $300,000) given to the campaign.
“The leverage of the federal matching program is the main incentive for us,” said Ken Mills, president of CSSC. “When we give $2,500 toward student scholarships, it instantly doubles and does that much more good. That’s exciting for us. … Our organization was formed with the purpose of doing everything we can to make our communities better. We are thrilled about the growing partnership between our communities and SCC.”
The SCC Foundation only had enough resources to fund 43 of 225 scholarship applications received for this school year.
“With the generous support of our community and organizations like the Community Services of Swain County, we’ll be able to help more students pursue their educational dreams,” Selzer said. “We cannot thank Ken and everyone at the CSSC enough for their gift. Ninety percent of our graduates tend to stay and work in our service area of Jackson, Macon and Swain Counties, so this is a wonderful investment – not just in SCC – but in the communities we serve.”
For more information about the Student Success Campaign and the SCC Foundation, visit southwesterncc.edu or contact Selzer at m_selzer@southwesterncc.edu or 828.339.4241.
