Ashland Community Health Foundation donation supports Allied Health students
JACKSON & JOSEPHINE COUNTIES – The Rogue Community College (RCC) Foundation recently received a strategic donation from the Ashland Community Health Foundation (ACHF). “The $40,600 gift,” according to RCC Foundation Interim Director Jodi Simons, “is tremendously helpful and will support many scholarships for students seeking careers and training in allied health occupations. We are tremendously grateful.”
“The timing of the gift coincides well with the continued high demand for allied health professionals in Jackson and Josephine counties,” added Simons. The scholarships will support student educational expenses as they pursue career training in dental assisting and medical assisting, or as pharmacy technicians or phlebotomists.
“We know that our community is facing an urgent need for caregivers,” said Stephanie Roland, ACHF associate director. “Supporting students who are interested in health is critical to fill that gap, and scholarships help move students quickly into the workforce. We want to support them now so they will be here for our community when we need them.”
The ACHF scholarships will generally range from $1,000 to $4,000 per student, covering about 50% of educational program costs. Allied Health students who will be enrolled during the 2023-24 academic year should apply during the general application window of Feb. 1- June 1, 2023. Programs that require different application timeframes will send invitations to apply for scholarships directly to students. Awarded funds may be used to cover costs of tuition, fees, books and other related costs of attendance.
According to Simons, “ACHF has been generously administering scholarship gifts to RCC since 2015 through the Evans Family Scholarship Fund that supports licensed practical nursing students. In May of 2022, ACHF provided an additional gift of $26,000 to support individual allied health student scholarships. Their newest gift is their largest so far and shows their tremendous investment in our community’s health!”
RCC Foundation Support Specialist Anna Manley works with students applying for scholarships, and notes, “These dollars are life-changing for students since they support short-term programs that enable gainful employment.” Manley also helps RCC faculty and staff connect students to these scholarship opportunities. “This donation will help sustain current students through program completion and recruit new students who need help paying for training,” she added.
The ACHF gift will help support a growing program. With a goal to expand on RCC’s strong existing Allied Health Occupations programs at the Table Rock Campus in White City, RCC sought and recently received a capital construction award of $3.61 million through congressionally directed spending with the assistance of Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley.
The awarded funding will allow the renovation of an older building on the Redwood Campus and will create a second allied health training facility that will improve training access for Josephine County students. The project is now in the design phase with a goal to complete the facility by 2024.
For more information about this gift, please contact Jodi Simons at 541-956-7347 or JSimons@roguecc.edu. For additional details about applying for scholarships, contact Anna Manley at AManley@roguecc.edu, or 541-956-7293. General information on scholarship application may be found at: www.roguecc.edu/foundation/scholarships.asp.
For general media inquiries, please contact Kelly Gonzales, Public Information Officer and Marketing Director at 541-955-7525, KGonzales@roguecc.edu.