OCTC Raises Funds for Student Food Pantry
Owensboro, KY (05/24/2019) — Owensboro Community & Technical College hosted an internal fundraising event to raise funds for a student food pantry. A small group of employees came up with the idea of setting up a "pop-up" restaurant to serve breakfast, and the OCTC Food Pantry Feast was born! The core team of "chefs" accepted donations for tickets to the event. More than 100 tickets were sold raising more than $1,500. OCTC has a matching grant through KCTCS that will double that amount through a match, up to $2,000.
"Employees cooked, donated, and served all the food so all the funds raised are going to directly support the food pantry. We are hoping to max out the match and raise the additional funds" commented Mike Rodgers, OCTC's Chief Institutional Officer.
Food scarcity among college students is a nationwide issue and locally that became apparent when the OCTC TRiO program, a federal grant initiative serving first generation and underserved population students, started a small food pantry on campus and was overwhelmed with demand.
OCTC President, Scott Williams added "We have been focusing on removing barriers for students where possible. We have new scholarships in place, we have the Work Ready KY Scholarship through the state, we have a partnership with Owensboro Transit to secure free transportation for students and this is just another way we can support students that allows them to focus on their educational goals."
OCTC plans to have the food pantry up and running in August for the fall semester. For more information or to contribute to the OCTC Food Pantry please contact the OCTC Resource Development Office at cadie.underwood@kctcs.edu or 270-686-4663.
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Owensboro Community & Technical College is one of the sixteen community and technical colleges that make up the Kentucky Community & Technical College System. OCTC serves the KY counties of Daviess, Hancock, Ohio and McLean. OCTC has three campuses in Daviess County and a Center and Annex in Hancock County. OCTC strives to serve the communities in the service area by providing associate degree education for transfer, state of the art technical education for students focusing on entering the workforce, customized business and industry solutions through the Workforce Solutions division, and adult education and business and industry testing through the SkillTrain unit.
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The Kentucky Community and Technical College System is the Commonwealth's largest postsecondary institution with 16 colleges and more than 70 campuses. We also are Kentucky's largest provider of workforce training and online education. Through partnerships with business and industry, we align our programs to meet the needs of local employers. We help students fulfill their dreams of creating a better life through programs that lead directly to jobs or help them transfer to one of our four-year partners.
Connect with OCTC: Owensboro.kctcs | Facebook.com/owensboroctc | Twitter@OCTC_Tweets | Instagram OwensboroCTC
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