Montgomery County Community College Foundation’s new philanthropic partnership, Circle of Partners, raised more than $163,000 in the first 24 hours to help students struggling to pay for tuition, instructional-related costs and essential needs such as rent and child care. That amount has increased to $169,070 and continues to grow.

The Foundation announced the Circle of Partners during a virtual fundraising event, Montco on the Rise, on Oct. 29, with the goal of raising $100,000. A generous anonymous donor matched each donation, dollar for dollar, up to $50,000 in the first 24 hours. At the end of that time, the Foundation was thrilled they surpassed their goal.

“We’re grateful for the outpouring of support and generosity of the founding members of the Circle of Partners,” said Jay Browning, MCCC Vice President of Advancement. “In 2019-2020, our students had a total unmet financial need of more than $62 million. We are off to a strong start in addressing that need.”

During the online event, attendees had the opportunity to hear from MCCC’s leadership including Dr. Victoria Bastecki-Perez, MCCC President, and Joe Gallagher, MCCC Foundation Board Chair. The program featured the testimony of several students who spoke about how MCCC has helped them to overcome their challenges and reach their goals.

One of the students, Blessing Osazuwa, endured several hardships while she was growing up, including homelessness as well as losing both her mother and younger sister to sickle-cell anemia. After graduating from high school, she started college at a four-year institution where she was sexually assaulted. She dropped out of school and worked several jobs until she decided to enroll at MCCC.

With a new determination and the encouragement and support of her MCCC advisor and faculty, she started taking classes to earn her associate’s degree in music. At one point in her journey, though, she didn’t have enough money to pay for public transportation to school. She told her professor, who connected her with MCCC’s financial aid office, and she was able to get assistance to cover transportation as well as food from the campus food pantry.

“Although I had some personal challenges, I ended the semester with a 3.9 GPA. After that, I applied for institutional scholarships and received two – the Montco Foundation Scholarship and the Billie Joe Loeben Music Scholarship,” she said. “I would not have been able to attain my degree without that help, and I am greatly appreciative of it.”

Osazuwa graduated summa cum laude this year from MCCC, and her dream of attending an Ivy-League school came true – she was accepted to Columbia University where she is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in music online.

The MCCC Foundation wants to help more students realize their dreams by creating the Circle of Partners. As explained by MCCC Alumni Board Chair Bill Vitiello during the virtual presentation, there are three main giving levels for founding members:

• Believers – A pledge of $1,000 a year ($83 per month) for five years will ensure 50 or more students receive help purchasing textbooks for their courses.
• Builders – A pledge of $5,000 a year for five years will help pay nearly three semesters of tuition for a part-time student; over five years, this would help five students cover a substantial amount of their tuition.
• Dreamers – A pledge of $10,000 a year for five years will help remove housing insecurities and other emergency needs for dozens of students.

The Foundation also will accept gifts of other amounts since every donation will help students.