California comes together in support of community college students

People gather throughout state to raise awareness, support for scholarships

(Sacramento - April 19, 2011)--MC Hammer helped organize people in a line in front of the Oakland Coliseum. Saxophonist Dave Koz led people hand-in-hand down the Santa Monica Pier. California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott gathered with hundreds in front of the State Capitol. Actors and celebrities including Ed Begley Jr. and Yvette Nicole Brown stood among political leaders and students at local community colleges. And they all did it on one day at one time for a common purpose: coming together to support the state’s nearly 3 million community college students through Hands Across California.

“On April 17, we saw tens of thousands of people come together at various locations throughout the state in unity for one purpose: to raise awareness of the needs of our students, so many of whom are struggling, and to help raise scholarship dollars so that these very students can continue to realize the dream of an education,” said Paul Lanning, President and CEO of the Foundation for California Community Colleges. “People of diverse backgrounds, from celebrities, to politicians, to community leaders and more, came together with students to stand hand-in-hand to create a message of unity and encourage all Californians to ensure the doors of opportunity are kept open for students.”

The statewide event included local gatherings at dozens of community colleges and other locations, where people came together to hold hands in unity and support of community college students. The local gatherings ranged in size, but all provided the same powerful visual and message: people of diverse backgrounds joining hands up and down the state to shed light on the needs of community college students, nearly half of whom in California have almost no resources to pay for a college education.

In addition to raising awareness of the needs of students, Hands Across California was held to encourage people to take action by supporting the California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment (CCCSE), a permanent fund that provides annual scholarships to thousands of students every year. Net proceeds raised from the event and through June 30 will receive a 50 percent match from The Bernard Osher Foundation, increasing the impact that will be made on future generations of students.

The CCCSE was established in 2008 thanks to a $25 million gift from The Bernard Osher Foundation, which also committed another $25 million as a challenge grant to the California Community Colleges as an incentive to raise an additional $50 million for the endowment by June 2011. If the Endowment reaches $100 million in total, it will provide desperately needed financial support to at least 5,000 students every year, forever.

Hands Across California was organized by the Foundation for California Community Colleges under the direction of Ken Kragen, the architect of such successful fundraising events as Hands Across America, We Are the World, and NetAid. The event was made possible through the partnership and support of major California corporations AT&T, UPS, Yahoo!, Southern California Edison and Clear Channel.

California’s Community Colleges serve as the nation’s largest system of higher education and were created to provide affordable and accessible educational opportunities for all Californians. Today, the system serves nearly 3 million students each year, enrolls three out of every ten Californians age 18-24, educates the majority of the state’s workforce, and provides a stepping-stone for students on the pathway to four-year and graduate degrees. Playing a significant role in the state’s workforce, California Community Colleges educate 80 percent of firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency medical technicians. In addition, 70 percent of the nurses in California received their education from Community Colleges.

To continue supporting California’s Community College students, visit www.HandsAcrossCalifornia.org for details, or text HANDS to 27722 to donate $10 through June 30.

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The Foundation for California Community Colleges is the official non-profit foundation to the California Community Colleges’ Board of Governors and Chancellor’s Office. The Foundation’s mission is to benefit, support, and enhance the missions of the California Community College system, the largest higher education system in the nation. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit corporation and receives no direct state or public support. For more information, visit www.foundationccc.org.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 112 colleges serving 2.76 million students in 2009-10. The system is also the largest provider of workforce training in the nation. Nearly 25 percent of all the community college students nationwide are enrolled in a California community college.