www.goldenleaf.org
Foundation announces new Golden LEAF Scholarship opportunities
$12,000 scholarships available to attend N.C.'s four-year colleges, universities
The Golden LEAF Foundation has recently revised its scholarship program to offer up to $12,000 for students from qualifying counties to attend participating four-year colleges and universities.
"The Foundation is committed to growing the economies of tobacco-dependent, economically distressed and rural communities," said Dan Gerlach, Golden LEAF President. "Helping cultivate the talent, knowledge and skill of our future workforce is part of the recipe of success for rebuilding these areas."
Under the new program, a rising college freshmen from a qualifying county can apply for a $12,000 Golden LEAF Scholarship to attend one of the participating four-year colleges and universities. Golden LEAF's four-year scholars will be eligible for $3,000 a year for up to four years. Scholarships are primarily need-based.
Students from qualifying counties that transfer from a community college to one of the participating four-year institutions are also eligible for $3,000 a year for up to three years, depending on the number of credits the student transfers.
Applications will be available December 16th at CFNC.org/goldenleaf. You can visit the Golden LEAF website's scholarship page by clicking here for more information on scholarship opportunities.
"The Golden LEAF Board of Directors decided to revise the Golden LEAF Scholarship program from a year-to-year commitment to providing four-years of assistance to make a tangible difference in the choice for young people to further their education," said Edgar Roach, Jr., Chairman of the Golden LEAF Board of Directors. "The Board is ever aware of the needs of our communities and is making an investment now in youth to develop the workforce and leadership of the future."
Since inception, Golden LEAF has also provided scholarships for students from qualifying counties to attend any of North Carolina's community colleges. Curriculum students can apply for assistance for up to $750 per semester, and non-curriculum students can apply to receive up to $250 a semester.
Community college students must apply for the scholarship each semester. Awards can be applied toward tuition, fees and related expenses. Scholarships are need and merit-based.
Contact your community college's financial aid office for more information on how to apply for a Golden LEAF Scholarship to attend North Carolina's community colleges.
About Golden LEAF Scholarships
Golden LEAF has provided over $18 million in scholarships since inception to help spur economic advancement in our tobacco-dependent, economically distressed and rural North Carolina communities. In fact, since 2000, 6,427 North Carolinians have attended our state's colleges and universities thanks in part to Golden LEAF Scholarships.
Click here for more information on how to apply, qualifying counties and participating colleges and universities. |
Golden LEAF presents $1.45 million grant for aerospace training
Foundation awards grant to Davidson County to help land aerospace jobs
Pictured are (from left) Golden LEAF Board members Richard Holder, Wade Barber, Paul Brooks, J. Thomas Bunn; Golden LEAF President, Dan Gerlach; Golden LEAF Board Chairman Edgar Roach, Jr.; GTCC President Dr. Donald W. Cameron; and GTCC Board of Trustees Chairman Coy Willard.
The Golden LEAF Foundation recently presented Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) with a $1.45 million ceremonial check that is being used to strengthen and expand the Piedmont Triad Region's aerospace manufacturing training capabilities. While in Greensboro, the Foundation's Board of Directors also approved a $750,000 grant to help neighboring Davidson County land an aerospace manufacturing company that will employ 500 people.
"The Foundation Board of Directors established the Golden LEAF Opportunities for Work (GLOW-AM) initiative to address workforce training gaps in aerospace manufacturing so that a larger pool of qualified workers in North Carolina are prepared for good-paying job opportunities in the state's growing aerospace manufacturing industry," said Dan Gerlach, Golden LEAF President. "Part of Golden LEAF's mission is to help train our citizens for job opportunities, like what we're seeing in aerospace manufacturing, to help rebuild our state's economy."
Golden LEAF Programs Chairman, Wade Barber (right), talks with Gene Kearns, Aviation Systems Technology Instructor at GTCC about the Magnetic Particle tester (pictured above), used to detect surface or subsurface faults in components made of ferrous materials.
The grant to GTCC will support aerospace manufacturing programs at the college, as well as other feeder programs that will build the workforce in the Piedmont Triad Region. Other partners in the grant include Guilford County Workforce Board (JobLink), Winston-Salem/Forsyth and Guilford County Schools and North Carolina Agriculture and Technical University.
GTCC is ramping up its capabilities through Golden LEAF funds by enhancing training capabilities in the Non-Destructive Inspection program and refurbishing and equipping a paint booth. JobLink is helping get qualified workers into the training programs through its successful pre-employment training assessment program. Winston-Salem/ Forsyth and Guilford County Schools are using the funds to train instructors, improve curriculum, and purchase equipment used in aerospace manufacturing and maintenance operations through their career academies. NC A&T is providing summer engineering academies to help build interest in and prepare students for educational and career paths in the industry.
The recent announcement by TIMCO -- one of the world's largest independent aircraft MRO providers -- expanding its operational presence in the Piedmont Triad is just one example of how aerospace manufacturing is emerging as a new economic engine in the state. TIMCO's expansion to Davidson County will increase employment by 500 jobs over the next 7 years.
The Golden LEAF Foundation grant awarded to Davidson County will be used to purchase equipment that will be leased to TIMCO at fair market value. The equipment is necessary to allow TIMCO to increase its production of aviation seating at a new facility in Davidson County. Proceeds from the lease will be used by the county to support future economic development projects that are charitable. Without Golden LEAF's investment, the company may have decided to locate outside of the state.
About GLOW-AM
The Golden LEAF Opportunities for Work in Aerospace Manufacturing (GLOW-AM) initiative was created to strengthen training capacities in regions of the state that have high concentrations of aerospace manufacturing companies and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations. The expected outcomes of the projects include an increase in the number of qualified trainees for placement in high-quality jobs in the aerospace industry. To date, Golden LEAF has awarded 10 GLOW-AM grants totaling approximately $5 million. |
Golden LEAF Opportunities for Work boosts Western NC workforce
Isothermal Community College training students for jobs in local trade industries
Isothermal Community College (ICC), with campuses in Polk and Rutherford counties, is training students for employment as pipefitters and millwrights with local trade industries in Western N.C., thanks to a $150,000 Golden LEAF Opportunities for Work (GLOW) grant.
The Golden LEAF-supported ICC training programs have helped 30 students find jobs as pipefitters or millwrights. These students are gaining employable skills and have the opportunity to earn a National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) credential.
ICC students learn the nationally recognized techniques for pipefitting.
With the 26-week training, pipefitters can expect to earn between $14.55 to $16.75 an hour in starting wages. Local industry submitted letters of support for the program, indicating employment demand for at least 100 pipefitters or welders over the next couple of years.
"Support from Golden LEAF has again been critical to acheiving significant economic impact for our area," said Thad Harrell, Vice President of Community and Workforce Education and Institutional Advancement at ICC. "So far, the majority of the folks who completed the program have been hired as pipefitters. All these people were unemployed and now have a job."
According to Harrell, "Once the employer recognized the skill level of our students and quality of the training program they had completed, students were hired based solely on their application and resume. No interviews were required."
The program is now finishing up its third group of pipefitting trainees with students set to complete program requirements in December.
About GLOW
Golden LEAF created the GLOW
initiative to help address some of the urgent job training needs North Carolina faced during the economic downturn. GLOW grants support short-term, non-degree vocational and/or technical training programs targeting identified employment opportunities in tobacco-dependent, economically distressed and/or rural communities. The goal is to create a workforce eligible for placement in permanent, full-time jobs requiring their new skills. Initial outcome measures show over 700 people have obtained jobs as a result of training programs supported by Golden LEAF through the GLOW initiative contributing more than $18 million in wages to the local economies of N.C. |
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Message from the
President
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Dan Gerlach
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In the spirit of the holiday season, the Golden LEAF Foundation is grateful for all those working so hard across North Carolina to transform their communities. In tough economic and budgetary times, our grantees and collaborators are taking on necessary challenges to move the needle, with no excuses.
We will not make excuses either. Golden LEAF is focused on jobs now and jobs in the future. And we will do so efficiently, effectively and with accountability.
Our administrative budget has been steadily declining since 2007 and is among the lowest of North Carolina foundations when measured as a percentage of grantsmaking. While administrative expenses are down, our cumulative grantsmaking has increased from $179 million in 2007 to $415 million through June 2010. Yes, administrative expenses are down while our workload has more than doubled.
Even during tough times for the stock market, over $100 million of our grants have come from investment earnings, leaving that much more in our corpus for future grantsmaking. Good stewardship is our core value.
In this issue of LEAF Lines, you'll read about some of the fruits of that stewardship. Our Golden LEAF Scholarship program, created 10 years ago under the leadership of our first Board chairman and UNC president emeritus William Friday, has provided financial aid to 6,427 North Carolina students. We are revising the scholarship to provide aid for four years, to give access to leadership training and internship opportunities in rural communities, and to choose students who we believe have promise of coming back home to work, raise a family, and lead.
Golden LEAF has helped build North Carolina's reputation as an aerospace center. You can read about our investments in the Piedmont Triad, with a focus on TIMCO and Guilford Tech. They are just two examples of the education/ business collaborations that Golden LEAF supports.
If you need skilled workers, we're helping North Carolinians get the training. In the western part of the state, Isothermal Community College is training pipefitters and millwrights through the Foundation's GLOW initiative to meet the demand for at least 100 positions requiring these skills.
Agriculture is not only our past and present, but key to our future as well. Strawberry growers, the N.C. Research Campus and experts at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte are collaborating on ways to improve the quality and value of one our state's leading crops. Read about this innovative program below.
It is no secret that our rural citizens often face greater health challenges than Americans on average. Better health care not only improves the quality of life, but offers high-wage job opportunities as well. The access that Heritage Hospital in Tarboro provides to breast cancer patients with our funding helps do both -- and even saves lives. Edgecombe County residents made this project a priority in the Community Assistance Initiative (CAI).
We're actively working on the CAI process in Mitchell, Tyrrell, Rockingham, Greene, Montgomery, and Graham counties. We'll be starting the process soon in Jones, Cumberland, and Wilson counties. I look forward to seeing many of you at those meetings.
Please let us know how we can continue to work with you for the betterment of North Carolina.
Dan Gerlach can be contacted by e-mail at dgerlach@goldenleaf.org. |
Golden LEAF supports research for new, better N.C. strawberry
North Carolina State University and Johnson & Wales team on 'N.C. Strawberry Project'
The Golden LEAF Foundation has recently awarded a grant to connect researchers, chefs, farmers, and food connoisseurs in an effort to create a new and better North Carolina strawberry.
Dr. Jeremy Pattison, N.C. State strawberry breeder, and Chef Mark Allison, Johnson & Wales dean of culinary education are leading up the efforts for the 'N.C. Strawberry Project'.
Researchers from North Carolina State University are working with chefs and nutritionists at Johnson & Wales University, as well as growers and consumers across the state, to enhance strawberry breeding. The goal is to improve the berry's characteristics, which will increase markets and profits for North Carolina farmers.
Strawberry breeder and researcher with N.C. State's Plants for Human Health Institute at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, Dr. Jeremy Pattison is working to produce a strawberry plant uniquely suited to North Carolina.
Information will be gathered in a variety of mediums. Student chefs will learn about food production by visiting local farms and agricultural research stations and identifying the characteristics that the culinary industry looks for in strawberries, such as flavor, color, texture and size. Additional aspects of the project include guest lecturers from the agricultural sector, sensory analysis and strawberry taste tests for the public.
Strawberries are a high-value crop like tobacco once was for many farmers. Currently, North Carolina grows several varieties of strawberry but doesn't have one specific to the desires of N.C.'s consumers and the conditions of our state's soil and climate. Currently, there are three main varieties of berries grown in N.C., all of which were originally developed for California and Florida climate conditions: Camarosa, Chandler and Sweet Charlie. According to researchers on the project, the new N.C. berries may have a longer growing season, thus increasing their availability and economic impact.
"Ultimately, we want to increase the economic value and impact of N.C. strawberries while enhancing the eating experience," says Dr. Jeremy Pattison, strawberry breeder and researcher with N.C. State's Plants for Human Health Institute at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis.
The goal, says Pattison, is to develop superior strawberry varieties that will taste better and contain qualities that N.C. consumers, chefs and producers indicate are important.
State of the Industry
At $74 billion, agriculture is the top industry in North Carolina. There has been a steady decline in industry production values, however, as tobacco, once the king of N.C. crops, decreased in acreage by 86 percent from 1997 to 2007. The decreasing demand for tobacco has left a void -- in producers' fields and pockets -- that other high-value crops like strawberries can fill. The N.C. State strawberry research and extension outreach program plans to increase the economic value of N.C. strawberries, a $20.8 million industry, by 25 percent over the next few years, using information gleaned from this project to breed an N.C. strawberry that is of superior quality and has a longer growing season.
(source NCMarketReady.org) |
Heritage Hospital fights high breast cancer mortality rate through patient navigation program
Golden LEAF-funded project helping patients break down barriers to treatment
In 2007, Edgecombe County's breast cancer mortality rate ranked 16th highest in the nation. County hospital officials found this rate alarming and began looking for answers to help change these statistics.
In 2008, Golden LEAF began the Community Assistance Initiative (CAI) in Edgecombe County, a process by which Golden LEAF invites Tier 1 counties to come together in open forums, prioritize needs and submit project ideas to the Foundation's Board for about $2 million in possible funding. The CAI process began soon after Heritage Hospital began thinking about how to help change the rate of breast cancer deaths.
Research has show that there is an increase in the rate of survival for breast cancer patients if their cancer is detected in early stages and they receive timely treatment. Heritage Hospital found that the Breast Cancer Patient Navigation Program was a successful model that addressed both of those issues.
The Breast Cancer Patient Navigation Program surfaced as a priority for the county during the Golden LEAF CAI process and was awarded $100,000 grant to fund its initial startup. Due to the program's success in connecting breast cancer patients with available resources, Heritage Hospital plans to continue to fund the program and is looking to expand its reach to patients with other infirmities.
According to Michele Cherry, project manager for the Edgecombe County Breast Cancer Task Force, "If it wasn't for Golden LEAF, we wouldn't have a program to address this need. With the alarmingly high mortality rate, we now have the resources to combat it."
The Breast Cancer Patient Navigation Program helps patients break down the barriers to getting treatment. |
Questions about Golden LEAF?
Please contact Mark Sorrells at msorrells@goldenleaf.org.
Comments or feedback about our newsletter?
Please contact Jenny Tinklepaugh at jtinklepaugh@goldenleaf.org.
© 2010 Golden LEAF Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.
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