BCC Foundation’s Bella Italia raises over $75,000 for student scholarship support

June 29, 2022 – The Brunswick Community College Foundation (BCCF) hosted the 6^th annual Bella Italia event on Saturday, June 25, 2022.  The annual gala was presented by Diamanté Sponsors, Dinah E. Gore and Myong & Paul Jensen and was supported by a host of other sponsoring partners from the community.  The evening began with a glass of prosecco at the door and opportunities for guests to mingle and enjoy each other’s company.  Donna Gregory, of WWAY’s “Good Morning, Carolina,” served as emcee for the event and the program included performances by Cape Fear A Cappella, an invocation by Joe Stanley, and remarks from Kent Wood and Teresa Carroll of the Foundation Board.  Guests also heard from Dr. Gene Smith, President of Brunswick Community College (BCC) who brought greetings and updates from the College and encouraged attendees to consider how they may “create meaningful opportunities to change lives” through engagement with BCC and the Foundation.Over a delicious five-course dinner with food and wine pairings provided by Coastal Catering and Events, guests heard heartfelt stories from three (3) BCCF Student Ambassadors.  The students, Samuel, Lena and Alexis are each working hard to achieve their educational goals.  Samuel is working towards his Associates degree and will return as a second year student to BCC in the fall.  In August, Lena will begin her second year in the BCC Associate Degree Nursing program, and Alexis is a May 2022 BCC graduate heading to North Carolina Central University in the fall.  Although they all had different backgrounds, programs of study, and future plans, a familiar thread wove through each of the three students’ speeches.  They each spoke of how special it was to be a scholarship recipient and know that, as Lena shared, “someone outside of [her] family, decided to have faith in [her] and [her] educational abilities.”  Samuel spoke of “paying it forward” and how assistance from a scholarship “enabled [him] to go from working six days a week… and hardly seeing [his] family” to a more manageable workload and the ability to spend time on the weekends with his mom.  He continued to say that the donors’ “kindness has provided us with a scholarship for the chance to better ourselves and to have access to resources and experiences we would not have had otherwise.”  Alexis thanked key people who have inspired her to succeed that include her superheroes, her mother who “juggled college and a full time job while supporting [her]” and her dad who “instilled the value of hard work and dedication” in her and her siblings.Elizabeth Wassum, BCCF Executive Director, says, “the evening was an amazing success and would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors, Foundation Board Members, staff, and the incredible Student Ambassador team.  Funds raised at Bella Italia provide critical support to the Foundation as we seek to fulfill our mission.  Saturday was also a wonderful time to connect and reconnect with our community of generous donors and invite them to join us as we look ahead to an exciting new year of serving our students.”If you would like to learn more about how to get involved with the Foundation at Brunswick Community College, please contact Elizabeth Wassum, Executive Director BCC Foundation at 910-755-6530 or [email protected]The Brunswick Community College Foundation, organized in 1982, is a charitable organization 501(c)(3) instituted to enhance the mission of Brunswick Community College to a level of excellence and purpose for students and the community. The Foundation is a vital resource for the acceptance and solicitation of all gifts for the support of education and the continued growth and progress of Brunswick Community College. To learn more about the Foundation, please contact Elizabeth Wassum at (910) 755-6530 or [email protected].

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