A new partnership between the Greene County Legislature and the Columbia-Greene Community College Foundation.
New paths to college degrees, professional certificates, and personal development have been forged for Greene County residents through the creation of the Greene County Cares Fund.
The Greene County Cares Fund launched on August 17, following approval of a resolution by the Greene County Legislature directing $181,600 to the Columbia-Greene Community College Foundation. The Fund is providing assistance now to Greene County students seeking to enroll in credit and/or non-credit classes during the 2020-2021 academic year, and will be disseminated among four initiatives:
- Greene Light to Enrollment Fund, providing tuition support for recent Greene County high school graduates and non-traditional students seeking to earn a degree or certificate;
- CoGreene Satellite Programs Fund, covering faculty salaries and other expenses for pilot programs in Entrepreneurial Studies to be offered at the Cairo Public Library, Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School, and other sites to be determined;
- Emergency Transportation Fund, helping students who need travel assistance get from Greene County to the campus by providing gas cards, E-Z Passes, bus fare, and cab fare, and
- Academic Coaching Program Fund, providing a special, semester-long tutoring, mentoring, and coaching program to ensure the academic success of at-risk Greene County students.
C-GCC President Carlee Drummer, Ph.D., lauded the project and its overall mission to help students keep on-track to achieve their academic goals.
“The College owes Greene County a debt of gratitude for this magnanimous gesture that will help so many students whose lives have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic,” she stated.
Patrick S. Linger, chairman of the Greene County Legislature, added that the fund can have a profound effect on the County’s communities, by creating pipelines to education that did not previously exist for residents of all ages, from all walks of life.
“The Legislature developed the Greene Light to Enrollment Fund, as the name suggests, specifically with the needs and aspirations of Greene County residents in mind,” he explained. “Through this partnership, obstacles can be overcome, new opportunities discovered, and career aspirations met – all for the betterment of Greene County residents, businesses, cultural organizations, and beyond.”
Greene County residents interesting in scholarship assistance through the Greene Light to Enrollment Fund are encouraged to apply now at the C-GCC Foundation’s web page. Fall 2020 classes begin Tuesday, September 8, 2020.
For more information, call Joan Koweek, executive director of the C-GCC Foundation, at 518.828.4181, extension 3727, or visit SUNYcgcc.edu.
About C-GCC
Columbia-Greene Community College, a campus of the State University of New York, is a comprehensive, two-year college offering a variety of transfer and career programs leading to the degrees of Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Associate in Applied Science, and Associate in Occupational Studies, as well as one-year certificate programs and specialized courses geared toward community interest.
