BRCC EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION, INC
Summer 2020
Spring Fling Live! Hi
E MOVED ONLIN AY D S R U TO TH JUNE 18 7 PM
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hank you to our Spring Fling sponsors for supporting our rescheduled BRCC Spring Fling online event “BRCC Spring Fling Live!” on Thursday, June 18 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.! We would also like to give a big shout out to BRCC Educational Foundation Board members Tassie Pippert and Andy Vanhook for volunteering to host this online event, and to Bowman Auctions for providing the platform for the online auction.
Check out https://www.brcc.edu/edfound/sf/ for additional information. VIEWING FROM HOME MADE POSSIBLE BY OUR SPONSORS:
DIAMON D SPONSOR
PL AT INU M S PO NS O RS
G OL D S P ON S ORS
BRCC Educational Foundation Board Chair Mary Louise Leake, Vice Chair Matthias N. Smith, Secretary John A. Downey, Treasurer Cynthia F. Page Kelly R.S. Blosser Kenneth R. Boward Rob W. Cale
Karen C. Clark Kenneth S. Cleveland III Douglas G. Driver
Silvia T. Garcia-Romero Teresa H. Gauldin Mary McDermott
Thomas C. Mendez David R. Metz Tassie L. Pippert
Justin T. Rexrode William M. Saxman Jr. Jerry D. Sheets
Alan L. Shelton Linnea J. Spradlin Ruth E. Jones Turner
Pamela K. Ungar Andrew P. Vanhook
Community Link is an official publication of the Blue Ridge Community College Educational Foundation. It is distributed to friends in the Shenandoah Valley, as well as BRCC faculty and staff, and is published quarterly by the Development Office, Blue Ridge Community College, Weyers Cave, VA 24486. If you have any questions or comments regarding this publication, please contact Angie Glenn, Development Services Coordinator, at (540) 453-2307 or glenna@brcc.edu.
Message from the President
W hat a year 2020 is turning out to be! The emegence of a worldwide pandemic has changed Blue Ridge Community College—and perhaps all of higher education—for some time to come. However, our faculty have shared their expertise and our students have demonstrated their resilience in ways that are inspiring. In a matter of days, faculty converted courses to be delivered online, staff reached out to support our students in a myriad of ways, and countless students persisted in their coursework and completed the semester successfully. Now, our thoughts are focused on the future, as planning for the fall semester, though still surrounded with great uncertainty, is in full swing.
BRCC President, Dr. John A. Downey
Especially during these challenging times, the administration, faculty, staff and – of course – our students, are grateful for the support of donors like you. Because of you, we have been able to provide technology grants to students for essential instructional equipment. In addition, we distributed emergency funding to some of our most at-risk students, those enrolled in the Great Expectations Foster Care support program. Finally, the Blue Ridge Community College Educational Foundation approved new grants for College faculty and staff in order to provide them with the unique support they need for delivering instruction through online technologies. I have been encouraged and grateful for the manner in which so many members of the BRCC community have employed their talents to help us all persevere through the crisis. As an educational institution, we highly value learning. And I have witnessed with pride and awe, the many methods in which the transmission of learning is taking place. We strive to continue this incredible journey, and are so appreciative of your help and support. Thank you!
BRCC Commencement Update
BRCC’s 2020 Commencement ceremony – postponed from its original May date – is now scheduled to be held Monday, September
21, at 7:00 p.m. at the JMU Convocation Center. Further details will be released closer to the date. We are looking forward to this ceremony, but please be aware that this is a save-the-date situation at this point. We are hopeful that this will all be possible in September!
Can we count on your support for the Great Community Give event on June 24th? Plan on rallying your friends and supporting your favorite charity (us!) as part of one of the biggest online days of giving in this area. Support BRCC online at https://donate. greatcommunitygive.org/organizations/blue-ridgecommunity-college-educational-foundation. Whether you donate $10, $50, $100 or more, it adds up to an incredible day of support for the nonprofits that meet needs, enrich our lives, and build a community we all enjoy.
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You Can Make a Difference
t’s not only during these unprecedented times that the BRCC Educational Foundation helps students in need. Just last year one of our students and her family lost everything in a fire – even their cars. It was late November and the student was two weeks away from final exams and end of the semester coursework. Working with our Career Coach at the high school her younger sister attends, the BRCC Educational Foundation stepped in to get this student back on track by purchasing a laptop as well as some life necessities, including clothes and shoes. Blue Ridge Community College is doing everything we can to keep our students on track with their educational plans, and the Foundation is vital to helping make that possible. By making a gift to the Blue Ridge Fund, you give the Foundation the flexibility to respond to the College’s needs in a timely and effective manner. The BRCC Educational Foundation closes out its fiscal year on June 30, 2020, but there is still time to contribute to the 201920 Blue Ridge Fund using the enclosed envelope. Online giving has never been easier! Scan this code to make a donation now to the BRCC Educational Foundation, Inc.
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BRCC Donates Classroom Supplies to Local Hospitals
n response to the COVID-19 pandemic, several academic departments and offices at Blue Ridge Community College collected and delivered personal protective equipment and supplies to Augusta Health and Sentara RMH. “Our programs receive valuable support from our field and hospital partnerships continuously. The agencies we are donating supplies to are also current and future employers of our students. This is an opportunity for us to give back during a time of greatest need,” explained Scott Vanderkooi, EMS program instructor. Items donated included 17,100 Nitrile gloves in various sizes, 550 disposable gowns, 450 face shields with masks, 400 N-95 masks, 350 surgical masks, 18 goggles, 17 vinyl aprons, and hand sanitizer and disinfecting soap. Departments participating in the collection included nursing, welding, EMS, chemistry, biology, vet tech, and the testing center.
Scholarship Support Changes Lives
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hanks to your generosity and support, 204 BRCC students benefited from $407,595 in scholarships, including fall and spring academic scholarships of $367,192 and Blue Ridge Promise, Career Exploration, Career Pathways, and Learning Can Be Fun program scholarships totaling $40,403. Scholarship recipients expressed their gratitude, saying: “You have awarded me the freedom to dream, plan, and move forward with my future without the financial burden of student debt. I am grateful for the opportunity you have given me.” “Your gift has given me a feeling of security, but more than that, encouragement and hope.” “I believe in paying it forward, so to speak, and I pray that in the future I find myself in a position to offer a young student the same assistance you have given me.” “Your financial generosity has allowed me to be one step closer to my goal and has inspired me to help others by giving back to the community.” “Thank you all for playing this very important part in my life, because I know that my dreams wouldn’t stand a chance of becoming reality without the support that you have given me through this scholarship.” While we were unable to hold the annual Scholarship Luncheon Celebration on March 20 as planned, we celebrate the success of our student recipients, and the generous investment in their education by our donors. Dennis Villeda was scheduled to be our student speaker at the Scholarship Luncheon, and would have shared what follows, excerpted from his planned remarks:
Dennis Villeda, Donald M. and Anita Kersch Endowed Scholarship recipient, Great Expectations scholar
“We all have a story unique to us that explains how we have gotten to where we are today. Mine consists of many individuals in my life like my big family of support who have inspired me, guided me, and helped me along the way. I chose Human Services as my program of study at Blue Ridge Community College because of my experience being an 8-year-old boy who was trying to find himself while being in the foster care system. That was one of the most difficult times in my life. Going through the Human Services program at BRCC allowed me to find myself and grow through the life-changing experience of being taught by Dr. Robin Hawks. I learned the importance of self-awareness and how that plays a big role in how we can better empower ourselves. These past two years have really been a pivotal point in my life, and have reassured me that I’m right where
Mary Pavlovskaya, Bank Officer and Business Deposit Services Officer at F&M Bank, had also been invited to deliver remarks from a donor perspective at the annual Scholarship Luncheon: “F&M Bank is pleased to have the opportunity to support Blue Ridge Community College though the Educational Foundation. We believe that investing in the future generation is critical to the continued growth and success of our community. We value the relationships that we cultivate from these experiences and hope that by providing financial assistance for students to attend higher education, we can help foster the next generation of business owners, influential community members and leaders of tomorrow. True to our roots, F&M Bank finds purpose in creating a strong sense of community not Mary Pavlovskaya: Bank Officer; only in the markets we serve, but also for our Business Deposit Services Officer employees. Over the past 8 years that I have worked at F&M Bank, I have found the most important aspect of any company is the mission and values that it holds. I would encourage all students as they start their careers to first closely examine the true mission that their prospective employer believes. When your values align with those of the company that you work for, you can find meaning and purpose in your endeavors. The ability to serve and support your community through charitable causes can make all the difference for your impact on the world. Using the education that you receive from Blue Ridge Community College and incorporating it into a company that matches your values will set you on a path to success.”
I’m supposed to be. I plan to continue pursuing my education in JMU’s Social Work program, and have been accepted to start classes in fall of 2020. I hope to take these experiences with me forward and one day help a young boy or girl find that same empowerment that I did. My empowerment came by having people who cared about me show me that I’m more than all of the things that ever went wrong in my life, things I had no control over. I know that I can take those “imperfect” pieces of my life and create something bigger…a legacy which I’ll look back on years from now and be proud of. I’d like to thank my donors Don and Anita Kersch for being giving enough to help students like me make their way through college without that financial burden hanging over our heads. Please know that every BRCC donor has played been a critical part in the journey of each BRCC scholarship recipient. You all help fuel so many of our dreams and play a big role in our success. All of you have also played a big role in helping me continue to believe in myself and move closer to accomplishing my goals, and that means more than you’ll ever know. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Support BRCC online at: https://donate.greatcommunitygive. org/organizations/blue-ridgecommunity-college-educationalfoundation
Great Community Give June 24, 2020, sunrise to sunset
Save the Date!
Blue Ridge Community College Educational Foundation, Inc. P. O. Box 80 Weyers Cave, VA 24486 (540) 453-2211 www.brcc.edu/EdFound
Non Profit Org. U. S. Postage and Fees Paid BRCC