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COMMUNITY NEWS
CARES Grants Help Hundreds of Students When second-year Fashion programs major Kendra Kennedy ’20 received a check for $817 in May, she was filled with gratitude. “Thank you, God. Thank you, Harcum College,” she said. “I was able to get groceries and other necessities. COVID-19 really exposed for me how imperative it is to have a safety net, and Harcum provided that for me.”
The money came from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security “CARES” Act. Harcum received over $1.7 million, with half the funds earmarked for students as emergency grants for expenses due to disrupted campus operations, and the other half for Harcum’s institutional needs. The Financial Aid office reported that 1,086 students qualified for grants. To date, more than 1,022 students received CARES funding.
Animal Center Management student Josephine Klumpp said, “Receiving the check was a welcome relief.” Her mother primarily supports the household of five. Another family member has a compromised immune system. “Because of this, I am unwilling to potentially expose him to COVID-19 by seeking a job at this time. The money has greatly helped keep us afloat in this situation.”
A hands-on learner with projects to complete, Kennedy faced obstacles with online learning away from campus. She had relied on tools Harcum offered—the sewing machine, mannequins, and materials. “It was challenging to get ahold of those resources. Graduation was a few months away. I knew that I had to finish strong.” Kennedy and other fashion students stayed connected. “We often would send reminders and motivational texts to keep each other going.”
Klumpp hopes to finish her degree when Harcum’s Bryn Mawr campus reopens this fall. Kennedy plans to continue her formal education and obtain a bachelor’s in Fashion/ Fashion Merchandising.
KENDRA KENNEDY ’20
KENDRA KENNEDY ’20, left, came to campus to celebrate her newly minted associate’s degree.
Harcum Donates PPE
IN RESPONSE TO AN URGENT APPEAL from the Einstein Healthcare Network, Harcum donated thousands of pieces of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) this past March.
Within four days of Einstein’s request, Harcum Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Julia Ingersoll reached out to all Allied Health program directors, corralling thousands of supplies, and handed them off to Carol Prushan, Chief Development Officer at Einstein, who met Ingersoll at the Bryn Mawr Campus Academic Center.
“As a college with a long and proud history of preparing students to work in healthcare,” Ingersoll explained, “Harcum understood the importance of supporting local healthcare workers by providing the protection they need to effectively serve their patients while also preserving their own health.”
Earlier in March, Harcum also donated a few thousand pieces of PPE to Montgomery County. PARTNERSHIP SITES PROGRAM EXPANDS Three new sites offering human services degrees will open for Fall 2020 while expanding Harcum’s outreach and geography. The Delta Family Services offices in Glenside and Levittown, Pennsylvania provide a wide-range of community-based services, including foster care, adoption, and support services for adults with developmental disabilities.
“This new partnership with Delta allows us to broaden the audiences we serve,” said Evelyn Santana, Executive Director of the Partnership Sites program. By partnering with Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, Harcum now has a footprint in West Philadelphia. Santana appreciates that Harcum can start serving that particular area Julia Ingersoll (left)
meets Carol Prushan. in the city. Mt. Carmel has a long history of community outreach and engagement, including serving the homeless with Chosen 300 every first Monday of the month and Church members reading to school children to impact literacy.
The Partnership Sites program allows students to obtain a college degree in their neighborhoods and each student receives a community-based grant.
HARCUM LAUNCHES OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSSISTING PROGRAM IN ARIZONA
An 16-month online Occupational Therapy Assisting (OTA) program has been launched in Sun City, Arizona that blends online and applied learning and is now recruiting for January 2021. The program will include online courses, skills labs near Phoenix offering hands-on learning and practice, and a fieldwork component for real-world experience with patients.
Senior Vice President Julia Ingersoll explained that the Arizona launch is the culmination of a two-year group effort. The Harcum Orbis partnership began in July, 2018. OTA Program Director James Foster said, “Harcum OTA has a high quality curriculum, faculty, and an amazing reputation within the Pennsylvania region. We look forward to bringing those same successful features to Arizona.”
Harcum chose the Arizona location because that region is currently experiencing some of the fastest OTA job growth in the country, due in part to the increased aging population.
Graduates of this new associate-degree program are eligible to take the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT®) examination for licensure.
