Skip to main content


Repost Message
will copy the article into draft mode and enable you to edit/change dates and information.
Do not change the dates
of this posting because it will affect the original.

MCC Daily Tribune

Wegman Family Charitable Foundation Invests $3 Million to Help Students Overcome Food, Housing Insecurities

More MCC students will be able to overcome the economic challenges standing between them and a college education thanks to the Wegman Family Charitable Foundation's $3 million gift to the Every Bright Future Needs a Strong Foundation campaign. Announced yesterday, the gift will help alleviate student hunger and strengthen support services at MCC.

The gift allows for enhanced resources for low-income MCC students struggling to afford food, consistent housing and other basic needs on their way to graduation, including:

  • food scholarships;
  • funding for Single Stop at MCC (low-cost community resources and services) and Dreamkeepers (emergency grants) programs; and
  • navigator assistance to ensure students remain on track and graduate.

"The Wegman family embraces opportunities to reduce hunger in the communities we serve and help people succeed. This investment will affect entire families and future generations," said Danny Wegman, Wegman Family Charitable Foundation president and chairman of the board.

In 2016, MCC's participation in the Wisconsin HOPE Lab study of community college students showed that food and housing insecurity threatens students' abilities to start college and earn degrees. More than half of the MCC students who participated in the study said they cut meal sizes or skipped meals altogether because they did not have enough money for food. The study confirmed that investments in food and housing assistance programs for community college students "will yield dividends, helping individuals improve their employment prospects and reducing their need for future support."

The Wegman Family Charitable Foundation gift is the latest major gift in support of the MCC Foundation's Every Bright Future Needs a Strong Foundation campaign. Launched in 2018 by Honorary Chairs Robin and Tim Wentworth, the campaign seeks to raise $50 million to increase the number of scholarships available to MCC students and help grow the local economy through a well-educated and technically sophisticated workforce. Including the Wegman Family Charitable Foundation gift, the campaign has raised $45 million to date.

To learn more and support the campaign, give online or contact the MCC Foundation at 292-3680.

About the Wegman Family Charitable Foundation
The Wegman Family Charitable Foundation, a charity headquartered in Rochester, New York, was created by Robert Wegman in 1991 and is funded by assets from his estate. The Foundation's areas of focus are health care, education, workforce development and United Way. The Foundation does not accept grant applications.

Gretchen Wood
MCC Foundation
03/21/2019