The Pearl River Community College Alumni Association and Development Foundation is asking the institution’s employees to “Be The Change.”
Executive Director Delana Harris announced Wednesday the launch of the special donation campaign. The idea is simple but the potential benefit can have a lasting impact on PRCC’s student body.
In short, through the campaign PRCC employees can opt to donate the “cents” in their paychecks to help fund one scholarship per school year.
“Be The Change kind of started with the idea of just donating the change or cents from your paycheck,” Harris said. “A lot of times, people think they have to fund a half- or full-tuition scholarship. They think that is the only way they can really make a difference or change lives.
“There is a misconception that it has to be a $500 or $1,500 donation so we wanted to come up with a really simple way that people internally can support our students.”
Harris’ department crunched the numbers and if every PRCC employee donated around 55 cents, the campaign could fund a full scholarship annually.
“I think it’s important that when you’re asking for support you can turn around and say our ‘family’ internally is also supporting this effort,” Harris said. “I think that goes a long way and creates synergy that we’re all working toward the same goals. Working in different departments it can be easy to forget we’re working toward the same goals.
“Our jobs at the college are to promote student success and this is just one way we can go about doing that.”
HOW TO SIGN UP
Donating is easy. All employees have to do is visit PRCC.edu/BeTheChange, fill out the form and denote the amount they wish to donate from each paycheck.
WHO BENEFITS?
The Foundation has formed an official scholarship committee to oversee the awarding of scholarships.
There are no specific criteria to qualify. Interested students will apply with The Foundation just like they would for any other scholarship.
The Be The Change scholarship will be more of a character based scholarship, Harris said, with the committee looking for individuals who “represent The Wildcat Way.” Need will also be a contributing factor, she said.
The initial recipient is expected to be selected ahead of the 2022-23 school year.
“I think it’s extremely special that people the student interact with every day will have potentially funded their scholarship,” Harris said.
The campaign was approved by the Foundation’s board in September and PRCC’s Board of Trustees in October.
Individuals who donate more than $100 annually are eligible to receive a tax deductible form from The Foundation.
For more information on the campaign, Harris can be reached at dharris@prcc.edu.
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