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Wegman Family Charitable Foundation Invests $3 Million to Help MCC Address Students' Food and Housing Insecurities (03/20/2019)

Note: This is an ARCHIVED news release. Information in this article may have changed since this was published.

Gretchen Wood Danny Wegman Ayriona Winston and Anne KressPictured at right: MCC Foundation Executive Director and Chief Advancement Officer Gretchen Wood, Wegman Family Charitable Foundation President and Chairman Danny Wegman, MCC Alumna Ayriona Winston and MCC President Anne Kress at today's announcement at the MCC Downtown Campus.

In response to growing food and housing insecurities among community college students, the Wegman Family Charitable Foundation (WFCF) invested $3 million with the Monroe Community College Foundation to help alleviate student hunger and strengthen support services at MCC.

The gift allows for enhanced resources for low-income MCC students (i.e., students annually earning less than $25,000) 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.
“Helping Monroe Community College students overcome hunger and other barriers to higher education will lead to more graduates working in and contributing to Rochester’s economy,” said Danny Wegman, Wegman Family Charitable Foundation president and chairman of the board. “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.”

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.”

“On a daily basis, too many MCC students are choosing between pursuing higher education and eating or feeding their families,” said MCC President Anne M. Kress, who also co-chairs the State University of New York’s Food Insecurity Task Force. “Monroe Community College greatly appreciates the Wegman Family Charitable Foundation’s generous support of our efforts to combat student hunger and basic needs insecurities in order to help more students earn the certificates and degrees they need to be successful.”

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.

“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 campaign,” said Gretchen Wood, chief advancement officer and executive director of the MCC Foundation. “With 91 percent of MCC career and certificate program graduates starting their careers locally, the Wegman family’s generosity will improve student outcomes and benefit families throughout Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes region.”

Individuals can support the campaign by visiting www.monroecc.edu or contacting the MCC Foundation at (585) 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.

About the MCC Foundation
The Monroe Community College Foundation seeks philanthropic investment to advance academic achievement, innovation, and the mission of excellence at the College. The MCC Foundation is ranked No. 1 among SUNY community colleges for total support.

Media Contact:
Rosanna Yule
Government and Community Relations
585-292-3024
ryule@monroecc.edu