Past Monthly Newsletters

The past year certainly proved to be an empowering one. Thanks to you, we provided more than 900 scholarships to hardworking Monroe Community College students, including 16 new scholarship funds, helping them close the chasm between their available resources and the cost of tuition.

Under the leadership of MCC President DeAnna Burt-Nanna, we see the efforts our students make every day. With our collective, laser-like focus on student success, we are moving determinedly forward together to fostering a college-going culture across all ZIP codes of our community where everyone has an opportunity to benefit from MCC’s many innovative offerings and services to achieve. We are proud to have transferred $7.8 million to the College in support of programs, facilities and scholarships including a total of $105,375 in MCC Assist emergency grants awarded to 275 MCC students.

We are grateful that so many of you continued to include the Monroe Community College Foundation in your philanthropic giving plans, allowing us to provide our students with the resources they need to be successful.

Thank you for all that you do to support our students in their quest to succeed through your gifts to the Foundation. Our best to you for a happy and healthy 2024.

Millibel Cotto is one of this year’s recipients of the STAR Power Scholarship. This award supports single student-parents who are head of household and provides the necessary resources to help them cross the finish line to graduation. Millibel assists in the Teaching and Learning Department at the Rochester City School District and provides counseling and crisis intervention services at the School of the Arts.

Millibel (pictured right with Calvin Gantt and Gretchen Wood) was raised in Puerto Rico and was told at age 17 that her life was over when she became pregnant. She believed she had no chance for a future as an unemployed teen mom who is Latina and self-conscious about her English skills. She had lost her job and apartment in 2021 and had no income for months, often times not having enough food for herself and her two sons. She eventually was able to find a new job and was determined to support her children and further her education.

Millibel decided her next step would be to enroll at Monroe Community College. She felt as though her life turned around at that point. Millibel sought out various opportunities and benefits of attending MCC and received the STAR Power Scholarship as well as the Sara Furguson Scholarship that is designed to help students pursue their passion through their educational journey. With these extra support systems in place, she has been able to become a fully independent single mother. Millibel is expecting to graduate in Spring 2024 and continue with her career in helping students at the elementary school level. 

While we have sent individual receipts for your gifts as they were made, we also offer to make the tax preparation process a bit easier by supplying you with a Year-End Giving Statement. If you are interested in having a statement prepared, please contact Lisa Fluman (lfluman@monroecc.edu) at the MCC Foundation and we will be happy to do so. Thank you again for your generous support!

The 40th Annual Scholarship Open will be held at The Country Club of Rochester on Monday, June 24, 2024. This is a sell-out event so do not delay in registering! Tournament Co-Chairs Ed Schuler ’81 and Billy Farmer, along with the Scholarship Open Committee, are planning an excellent day of golf in support of hardworking students at Monroe Community College.

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, visit the Scholarship Open webpage. As always, thank you for your support of students at MCC!

Would you like to take an extra step of care for Monroe Community College students? Leap into action by creating an estate plan and ensuring a lasting legacy with the Monroe Community College Foundation. Using FreeWill’s online estate planning tool, you can utilize the extra day in 2024 to protect the people you love — and support our mission to ensure that all students have the resources they need to be successful at MCC.

Leap into action and create your free will!

David and Lynnette Jones, along with a loyal group of family and friends, recently established a scholarship to honor the memory of their daughter, Sarah (pictured right). The Sarah Jones Memorial Endowed Scholarship will support Monroe Community College students who demonstrate academic achievement, volunteer in their community, and embrace Sarah’s enthusiasm for lifelong learning and living every day to the fullest.

Sarah left those she loved way too soon. She is lovingly described by her family as witty, charming, and larger than life. Intelligent, generous, a consummate professional. Champion of the underdog, student of improv, and lover of animals, especially manatees. A caring daughter, sister, and colleague. This scholarship honors her legacy by supporting students who embody Sarah’s spirit, share her thirst for knowledge, and who need an extra boost toward crossing the finish line to their MCC degree.

We are grateful to the Jones family for their generous gift to the Monroe Community College Foundation in Sarah’s memory.

Looking for a unique gift for Mother’s Day? Consider a contribution to STAR Power in honor of a remarkable woman in your life.

Over the years, the STAR Power Scholarship has eased the financial burden of juggling school, work, and family for more than 60 single student parents at MCC. Your support makes a difference as they strive to create a better life for themselves and their families.

Shyrell Brown (pictured right), one of this year’s recipients, shares how STAR Power has had a positive impact on her MCC experience:

“Thank you for helping me make it possible for me to pursue my dream of becoming an optometrist. This scholarship will allow me to focus on my studies. I hope to one day become an inspiration to single mothers with a dream. I’ve faced many barriers on this journey; hard work and dedication are the keys to success. Thank you again for your generous contribution.”

Make your Mother’s Day gift to STAR Power and support student parents like Shyrell today. All honorees will receive a special Mother’s Day card from the MCC Foundation. Thank you for your generosity!

It's not too late to honor a remarkable woman with a gift to the STAR Power Scholarship. Your support directly benefits single student-parents as they pursue their educational and career goals at Monroe Community College. In fact, 90 percent of STAR Power Scholarship recipients have graduated or remain enrolled at MCC.

Seyda Arslancil is one of this year’s STAR Power scholars. She is a former teacher who enrolled at MCC to change careers so she can better provide for her five-year-old son. Seyda is pursuing her associate of applied science degree in nursing with the ultimate goal of being a nurse practitioner. Thanks to support from STAR Power and other Monroe Community College Foundation scholarships, Seyda is able to work fewer hours so she can focus on her studies and care for her son.

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12. We invite you to consider honoring women like Seyda who juggle a variety of priorities in order to provide their families. All honorees will receive a special Mother’s Day card from the MCC Foundation. Make your gift today!

There is still time to register for the 16th Annual Scholars' Day presented by the ESL Charitable Foundation! This year’s visiting scholar and keynote speaker is David Wallace-Wells, New York Times Best Selling Author of The Uninhabitable Earth.

In this talk, Wallace-Wells will draw on the findings in this book and explore the near-future we face in the wake of the climate crisis. Even though there will be difficult times ahead, there is still time to mitigate the effects of years of abusing our planet and, most importantly—there is still hope for a livable future for all.

Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m. 
Location: Robin and Tim Wentworth Arts Building, Monroe Community College - Brighton Campus, 1000 East Henrietta Road, Rochester, 14623

This event is made possible by the generosity of the ESL Charitable Foundation, the William & Sheila Konar Foundation, and Dr. Barbara and John Lovenheim.

On April 24, our community lost a founding trustee, board chair emerita, trailblazing educator, and lifelong champion of excellence – Dr. Alice Holloway Young (pictured right).

Dr. Young's legacy at Monroe Community College is enormous through her extraordinary leadership during her 63-year service on the Board of Trustees and her generosity in support of students. She shaped the direction of the College and provided leadership that saw MCC become the premier institution it is today. Because of her lifelong work and her belief in the power of learning, the local community and the lives of over half a million students who walked through the halls and classrooms at MCC have been transformed.

A memorial service will take place on MCC’s Brighton Campus on June 1, 2024. Learn more about the service and the life and legacy of Dr. Young.