FCG is always ready to give back to our community and be involved. We are lucky to have one of the best community colleges in the country on our doorstep, Howard Community College (HCC), and asked our CSO Sean Keller to give us some insight about giving back and FCG’s contribution.
How did you initially become involved with HCC?
How did I get involved… Years ago a colleague and friend, who had been a former county councilmember and was a board member at the time, asked if I would like to be on the panel for its 5 year planning commission. The college was about to do its Commission on the Future, which is when they do a commission on the future of the school and strategic planning. They ask for a variety of members from the community, as a good representation of our population to participate, who are part of the education field, the business community, and local residents. After I got involved with HCC, I was asked if I would be on one of the committees for the gala, then one thing led to another leading me to serve, at one point, as chairman of the foundation board and now I am serving as the Board Treasurer.
Once you become involved and realize what a great asset and resource the school is to the community, it’s so motivating and pushed me to want to be a part of it. Also, the school does a great job of creating easy ways to be involved.
Were you instrumental in getting FCG connected with the HCC?
I was! One of our tasks as a member of the Foundation Board is to assist in raising money for the school scholarships. Unlike private colleges, where money is being raised for an athletic facility or a parking garage or a new building etc., all of the funds needed for assets come from the state and county at a community college so when contributions are made, they fund scholarships.
Who doesn’t want to help students get funds to go to college and offer such a great deal for people paying for education? For a student, $500 goes a long way. In some cases, that $500 is the difference between someone continuing their studies and not having to worry about putting food on the table; that’s how close it is for people in life sometimes. FCG wants to be involved in this community so this was a great way for us to be active and give back.
What did FCG contribute to HCC?
There are many ways that people can give to the college; they can give directly, establish a scholarship, participate in some of the events hosted, and a whole other variety of options that are available. But one of the ways that is a great way to help out is to participate in named giving.
When FCG became interested in donating, HCC had just opened up a new science, engineering, and technology building, which opened the opportunity for us to name a classroom. We felt this was a great way to leave our legacy with the community. The classroom will have Freedom on it with a plaque. The college recognizes the donation through the naming but the funds go towards a scholarship.
How are scholarship funds distributed for donations?
It depends on what fund the donation is attributed so you can specify if it’s for a specific group such as veterans etc. or if you would just want to donate to the general fund, which goes towards students based on merit or needs.
If someone is interested in giving to HCC or helping out, what do you recommend?
If an individual is interested, there’s plenty of ways to get involved such as events. For example, next year is the 50th anniversary for HCC, which you would never realize by how state of the art the campus is. The Board of Trustees and the President of the college are great stewards for the college and have worked to keep its facilities and resources state of the art. An individual can also just go online and make a donation or participate in events such as the gala, which is one of my favorites. If you have a family or cause you want to create a legacy for, you could honor them by creating a scholarship or endowment.
My absolute favorite event is Vino Scholastico. It’s usually on a Friday in April. We have local wine distributors and local food vendors will have food and wine on site for you to taste and you can purchase your favorites that evening with 100% of the proceeds going to scholarships for the school.
Anything cool coming up for HCC soon we can get involved in?
Like I mentioned earlier, the 50th anniversary is coming up next year which is going to be a big event and another opportunity for Freedom to get involved with the school. There’s also another event called the Challenge Race that’s coming up in October for all of our runners out there!