Donation matching announced for Elizabethtown Community and Technical College’s Home for Hope campaign
Up to $100,000 will be matched by the Central Kentucky Community Foundation to help fund ECTC’s campaign to create housing for student parents and their families.
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College's Home for Hope campaign aims to help eliminate barriers to higher education faced by students who have children by providing on-campus housing for their families. The campaign seeks to raise the remaining $750,000 it needs to complete the project after all other donations, credits, and vouchers have been applied. Central Kentucky Community Foundation has pledged to match donations up to $100,000, which will put a significant dent in that remaining total.
According to an article on Elizabethtown Community and Technical College’s website, Dr. Megan Stith, who serves as both the ECTC Foundation Executive Director and the ECTC Chief Institutional Advancement Officer, said of the announcement, “This is an amazing opportunity for donors to double their impact, and we can’t thank CKCF enough for working with us to help improve the lives of our students. This gift match shows that now more than ever any amount donated, whether it’s $20 or $2,000 and beyond, will go that much further toward supporting ECTC students who work so hard to create a better future for their families.”
The goal of the campaign is to build on-campus family housing for students who are also parents. There will be 48 available housing units that feature both two- and three-bedroom layouts, a playground, and family services resources. As identified by ECTC, housing insecurity and transportation issues were among the biggest barriers to education for student parents. Home for Hope and the Family Scholar House seeks to remove those barriers.
Construction on the project will begin in spring 2024. The total price of the project is $14.8 million, with a lot of that cost already covered by vouchers and donations.
Central Kentucky Community Foundation President and CEO Davette B. Swiney discussed the decision to match gifts, saying, “We understand the impact Home for Hope will have both for ECTC students and the community at large. As these students complete their education and have more opportunities for success, they will have a greater ability to support their families in a long-term manner. CKCF is proud to partner with ECTC to help build lasting change, and we hope this match gift helps inspire the continued community support needed for this project to become reality.”
Of the student parents who are interested in living in the Family Scholar House, priority placement will be given to students pursuing degrees in high-demand fields like manufacturing or healthcare.
For more information about the Family Scholar House, visit its webpage. For more general information about Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, visit the school’s website.