News
CCC-Hastings Major Gifts Campaign Reaches Fundraising Goal
September 26, 2018
The Central Community College Foundation has announced that it has met the $5 million funding goal set for the CCC-Hastings Campus Major Gifts Campaign. The achievement comes six months ahead of schedule, which allows groundbreaking (pictured) for a 32,000-square-foot renovation of the Hamilton Building to take place this fall instead of next spring.
The Hamilton Building is home to CCC’s advanced manufacturing design technology program (AMDT) and welding technology program. A 17,000-square-foot addition will be constructed on the south side of the existing facility to house the AMDT program. A 15,000-square-foot renovation of the existing building will follow and will house the welding technology program. Construction on the addition will begin immediately while the renovation will commence in one year. The total cost of the project is $10.3 million, of which $5.3 million will come from college reserves, with the intention of no long-term debt.
“This is really exciting news not only for the business and the industry, but also for the communities it will serve, along with the students who will be coming to CCC,” said Dean Moors, CCC Foundation executive director. “The donors really stepped up because they understand the skilled workforce issue locally and regionally as well as the importance of addressing this issue now.”
One of the key messages of the campaign was the “Growing Our Own” concept. The concept is to create opportunities for students to begin developing skilled careers through area pathways programs at area high schools and even some middle schools. The goal is that once students have the necessary skills, they will seek full-time employment in their respective communities. Recent surveys show that some 90 percent of students attending CCC stay within its 25-county service area and nearly 100 percent stay in Nebraska.
“As pathway students matriculate to CCC, the need to expand and modernize our space for these two programs is critical,” said CCC-Hastings President Bill Hitesman. “We are eager for this project to become a reality as we work to continue to help meet the needs of our communities.”
With the campaign goal met, the CCC Foundation will now focus on a second initiative to raise $500,000 in an endowed scholarship for students in the AMDT and welding technology programs.
“The scholarship initiative of raising $500,000 is going very well to date and is also very important to this project,” said Moors. “These scholarships will help deliver financial assistance to students coming to CCC for many years to come.”