BATAVIA, NY (11/29/2010)(readMedia)-- "I thank you so very much for the generosity of those who helped make this scholarship possible. It is with the greatest amount of gratitude of not just me but my family as well that I am honored to accept the scholarship." Philip Clarke, Respiratory Care degree program.

"I am honored to be a recipient of the Scholarship! I truly appreciate the thoughtfulness, confidence, support and campaigning it took to make this possible." Ericah Rogers, Human Services degree program.

Monica Hale Dawson '72 secretary-treasurer of Shepard, Maxwell Hale Insurance Agency, and Foundation board director and general chair of Genesee Foundation's 2010-2011 annual campaign, Extraordinary, read more than 70 thank you letters received from scholarship recipients this fall, and she shared excerpts from these letters at a recent GCC Foundation meeting. The sentiment expressed in the letters inspired Ms. Dawson and her leadership team to challenge and encourage the general community to support the College's students as they prepare for meaningful careers and become contributing citizens of our community.

"Scholarships do make a difference in the lives of our students, Ms. Dawson said. "There are so many challenges facing our students today. Not only does the financial incentive attract and retain students, but our human investment in the students motivates them to excel and eventually give back."

She added that there are several divisions in the annual campaign. Each division chair is responsible for a portion of the overall $459,000 goal. Division chairs are:

• Associates division: Jane Scott of Stafford, branch manager, Five Star Bank, Batavia
• Faculty and Staff division: Marirose Ethington of Pavilion, professor of biology, Genesee Community College
• Genesee division: Peter Call of Batavia, president, My-T Acres, Inc.
• Heritage division: Patrick Forsyth of Batavia, CPA, and Foundation board director
• Leadership division: Robert L. Boyce of LeRoy, broker, Tompkins Insurance Agency and Foundation board director
• Livingston division: co-chairs Les Cole of Caledonia, president, Commodity Resource Corporation and Foundation board director and Robert C. Savage of Avon, president, WYSL and Foundation board director
• Wyoming division: Teresa Eddy of Alexander, branch manager, Five Star Bank, Attica office

Ms. Dawson continued that the Faculty and Staff division has accomplished their goal raising nearly $45,000 in pledges and gifts from dedicated College faculty and staff.

Faculty and Staff Division chair Marirose Ethington said, "As faculty and staff, we see firsthand the impact of scholarships on our students. Scholarship awards help fill our classrooms, and if we encounter students in crisis we have a referral network that has the ability to sort out the situations and retain the students if possible."

Mr. Boyce, Leadership Division chair added: "It is so important to our local economy that we train our residents in need careers and skills, such as health care for our hospitals and nursing homes, criminal justice, technology, human services and more. The presence of the College brings incredible economic benefit to our four-county region as tomorrow's leaders are trained and our local workforce is strengthened."

The Genesee Community College Foundation was formed in the mid-eighties as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing service to and support of the College. Its thirty-member board of directors is comprised of business and civic leaders, and last year, the Foundation's philanthropic support provided scholarships to Genesee students totaling $263,707.

Contributions for support for the College programs and students may be sent to the Genesee Community College Foundation, One College Road, Batavia, NY 14020. For more information contact the Foundation (585) 345-6809 or foundation@genesee.edu.

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Posted Monday November 29, 2010 at 12:43 pm by Genesee Community College
Last Updated Wednesday December 01, 2010 at 10:21 am