The Greenville Tech Foundation strives every day to lift up college students who need a boost. For one day, the foundation is also asking the public to help.
In partnership with Greenville Technical College, the foundation will host its second Greenville Tech Giving Day on Dec. 5.
Giving Day donations last year exceeded the goal of $50,000 – in honor of the foundation’s 50th anniversary.
“We raised a little over $76,000. Our goal is to do that again this year,” says Ann Wright, Vice President for Advancement at Greenville Technical College Foundation.
Giving Day is a chance for people to learn more about Greenville Technical College and also offer financial support.
“We want to raise awareness and let people know that a gift of any size is important and goes a long way. It’s not all about big checks,” Wright says.
The nonprofit Greenville Tech Foundation has many donors, but Giving Day is an opportunity for anyone to help, regardless of the amount, she says.
In the past eight years, the foundation has raised more than $25 million in cash, pledges, gifts-in-kind, and planned gifts to support the college and its students. One donor, Adriana Grant, will match gifts of up to $22,000 on Giving Day in memory of her brother, Dwight Huggins.
“Our focus has been, and probably always will be, scholarships. We have almost doubled the number of endowed scholarships in the last eight or nine years. This year, we set a record. We helped more than 1,000 students with over $1 million in scholarships,” Wright says.
“Enrollment at the college is about 12,000; we’re helping 1,000 of the 12,000 students.”
The foundation has more than 200 endowed funds to support scholarships. But scholarships don’t necessarily cover needs that extend beyond tuition and textbooks.
“The foundation and the college embrace the fact that a typical student at Greenville Tech is very different than a typical student at a four-year college,” says J. David Sudduth, Chair of the foundation’s Board of Directors.
“The vast majority of our students are in a transition. Life gets in the way – or tries to get in the way – of their education,” he says.
Sudduth was a student in transition when he enrolled at Greenville Tech in 1986, after four years of active service in the U.S. Navy. He later transferred to Clemson University and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
After a career in health care administration, Sudduth now leads Healthy Me, Healthy SC, an organization dedicated to improving access to medical care in rural and underserved areas of the state. He has served on the foundation’s board for six years and recently received the college’s Unsung Hero award.
Wright says Sudduth’s tenure has been transformative. For example, though the college has a food pantry, The Caring Corner, the board became aware that students have broader needs.
“Many of our students are working and going to school at the same time, and typically they’re supporting families. We needed a program where students could obtain help to get past an emergency that might cause them to stop going to school,” says Wright, who has been with the foundation for eight years.
This year, the foundation used $86,000 from the emergency fund to assist 88 students with issues like past-due rent, utility bills or school supplies, Wright says.
“We can keep a student from stopping their studies, help them get past that emergency, and stem the tide of future emergencies.”
For Wright, courses at Greenville Technical College were beneficial when a previous job led to work in human relations. She decided to take classes that built on her four-year degree in social work.
Other students might turn to Greenville Tech to master skills that advance their careers or earn degrees or certificates that lead to more fulfilling, better-paying jobs.
“The college offers so many high-demand, highly technical, innovative programs,” Sudduth says. “The vast majority of our students have accepted a job six months before they complete their education. These students are in demand, and I’d venture a guess that when they graduate, they’re making considerably more than most four-year graduates.”
Not only do students gain economic upward mobility, but 80% of them stay in the area, Wright says. “Graduates contribute to the economy. They add to the community.”
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Wright says that for every dollar Greenville Technical College invests in a student’s education, the student sees a return of $7.80 in higher future earnings.
“From being able to live their lives and support their families, to businesses that need employees, to the community as a whole … Everyone benefits.”
The African American Male Scholars Initiative was launched in 2019 when the college commissioned a study and discovered that Black men had poorer grades than students in any other demographic, Wright says. “It was significant. It was glaring. It’s pretty much true nationwide.”
The initiative began with 30 Black men and now has 400 participants. “With as little as $2,000 per student a year to help with things in and out of the classroom, that demographic is performing better than any other,” Wright says. “In just five years, that group is exceeding everyone else.”
Sudduth says the program creates a sense of community for the men.
“It has its own sense of accountability. They’re selective about the folks who join the program. They welcome students who are hungry for the opportunity and support to achieve their educational dreams. It’s been amazing to watch,” he says.
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Looking ahead, Greenville Technical College will welcome a new president in 2025. Dr. Keith Miller has served since 2008 and plans to retire in July. He is only the second president of the college. The founding president, Thomas Barton, served from 1962 to 2008. He died in 2020.
“It’s important to remind folks, even people who have lived here for a long time, that Greenville Tech has continued to innovate,” Sudduth says. “It’s not the Greenville Technical College that people remember from 25 years ago. It’s a very different place.”
Wright agrees. “You’re lifting up the whole community when you support Greenville Technical College.”
To learn more about Greenville Tech Giving Day on Dec. 5 or to donate, go to www.greenvilletechgiving.com.
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