Program Helps Single Parents Stay in School at A-B Tech

ASHEVILLE, N.C., March 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College program designed to help single parents enroll in college and stay in school boasts a success rate nearly a third higher than the national average, but the program is in jeopardy of ending unless matching funds are raised for a challenge grant by June 30.

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The Lavender Fund was established at A-B Tech in 2008 through the generosity of an anonymous donor and the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. The program, managed by the A-B Tech Foundation, provides scholarship opportunities to support single parents with children at home who want to go back to school to gain the education and confidence needed to change their current situation and become financially independent. A donor has stepped forward and pledged $125,000 to continue the program if the Foundation can raise $125,000 in matching funds.

"The fund was started by an anonymous donor who recognized non-traditional students have needs other than tuition. The A-B Tech Foundation set up a case management model with funds to help with students' emergency needs such as rent, utilities or something even as basic as food," said Sana Efird, Executive Director of College Advancement at A-B Tech. 

Efird said students are provided access to an advisor who provides ongoing assistance, communication and resources to help meet their needs.

"Lavender has served just over 100 single parents with this scholarship, and the latest fall-to-fall retention/completion rate is 88 percent," said Liz Atkinson, A-B Tech's Lavender Fund Advisor. The current national average rate for community colleges is 56 percent.

The program has been so successful that two other Western North Carolina community colleges – Blue Ridge and Haywood are replicating it.

Scholarship recipient Teri Pope takes night classes at A-B Tech, studying Emergency Medical Science and Human Services. She also works 40 hours a week at the VA Hospital and volunteers for the Red Cross and Weaverville Fire Department.

"I am a single mom, dedicated to improve my situation in any area where I can be of service to the community and to also set an example for my children that no matter what happens in life they can succeed if they are diligent and work hard," Pope said. "I have found when dedicated and I put my mind to it and my heart in it, I can do anything, especially when the intentions are for the good of my family and community."

Another component of the grant supports the A-B Tech Student Business Incubator program for student entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. The fund provides $500 a month for students in the incubator program to offset business costs, supports the Young Entrepreneurial Scholars summer day camp for middle and high school students and provides entrepreneurial education opportunities for middle and high school students throughout the year.

A-B Tech student Karen Donatelli is a current member of the student incubator program. She has opened a cake design business in downtown Asheville, employing six people. "If it weren't for A-B Tech, I wouldn't have been able to do this," she said. "The College touches so many lives in this community."

Anyone interested in donating to the fund should contact Sana Efird at the A-B Tech Foundation at 828-254-1921, ext. 176 or [email protected]

SOURCE Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College