Gas card campaign raises $10,000 for GNTC students
The Foundation at Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) is revved up to help 45 students with transportation costs next semester.
The GNTC Foundation sponsored an internal giving campaign June 13-17, with a goal to raise $3,000. The gas card campaign included a match from the foundation and generated $10,000 to assist students on all six GNTC campuses, as well as the GNTC Aviation Training Center, with surging gas costs, according to Lauretta Hannon, executive director of the GNTC Foundation.
“The response to this campaign by GNTC faculty and staff just demonstrates what we already knew: our college community always pulls together when our students need us,” said Dr. Heidi Popham, GNTC president. “We are grateful to each and every person who donated, including a number of friends of the college who contributed as well.”
Donations from GNTC faculty, staff and friends ranged from $5 to $1,000, Hannon said. Funds raised during this campaign are being used solely to purchase gas cards for students.
Forty-five students will receive gas cards in various amounts, with most receiving a gas card for $200, Hannon said.
“I think it’s notable that we exceeded our $3,000 goal by $7,000,” she stated. “This was an internal giving campaign; it was not a public appeal. It’s pretty special that a staff member saw we were close to reaching $10,000 and decided to get us there—this after she had already donated to this campaign earlier.”
Students were recommended for assistance by their instructors, she said. Recipients will be notified after the fall semester begins in August and will pick up their gas cards then.
Hannon said she got the idea after a faculty member mentioned that some healthcare students were traveling great distances to get to their clinical sites. Soon after that, gas prices soared.
Something as small as help with the cost of filling the gas tank can make a huge difference for some students. One gas card recipient is a 24-year-old single mother of two who would not be able to travel to her clinical site next semester without this support. The student is expected to graduate in December.
Although the campaign has ended, anyone can support students by donating to the foundation at any time of the year. For more information, visit The GNTC Foundation
Founded in 1962, Georgia Northwestern Technical College is celebrating 60 years of providing quality workforce education to the citizens of northwest Georgia. Students have the opportunity to earn an associate degree, diploma or a certificate in aviation, business, health, industrial or public service career paths. This past year, 11,134 people benefited from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs. GNTC has an annual credit enrollment of 8,528 students and an additional enrollment of 2,606 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training and Georgia Quick Start. GNTC is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia and an Equal Opportunity Institution.
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