Friends of Hospice endows Scholarship for VGCC Nursing students
The local Friends of Hospice organization recently presented a gift to the Vance-Granville Community College Endowment Fund that will create an Academic Achievement scholarship in the group’s name. The first Friends of Hospice scholarship will be awarded later this year to a VGCC Nursing student.
Jo Anna Jones, VGCC’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement and director of the Endowment Fund, thanked Dot Robertson of Louisburg, the group’s president, at a Jan. 24 meeting of the Friends of Hospice board of trustees at First Baptist Church in Henderson. Robertson said that she was glad her organization was now in a position to give the scholarship. “Friends of Hospice promotes caring for people, so we want to contribute to the education of Nursing students, who may one day be providing that care as a hospice nurse,” said Robertson.
Founded in 1992, Friends of Hospice, Inc. is a non-profit organization operated by concerned and committed volunteers who represent Franklin, Vance and Warren counties. Friends of Hospice coordinates with the Louisburg branch of Tender Loving Care Home Health and Hospice to provide supplemental help for hospice clients and their families in those counties when their needs are not fully met by insurance and Medicare. The Friends group also supports memorial services for families of hospice patients and promotes awareness of the concept of hospice care.
The Friends of Hospice scholarship will add to the more than 5,000 VGCC scholarships awarded since 1982, which have been funded by interest earned on the Endowment Fund and Scholarship Program. Scholarships have been established by individuals, businesses, civic groups, churches and the college’s faculty and staff to assist deserving VGCC students. With assets of more than $6 million, VGCC has one of the largest community college endowment and scholarship funds in the state. Tax-deductible donations to the VGCC Endowment Fund have often been used to honor or remember a person, group, business or industry with a lasting gift to education. In Fall 2007, Vance-Granville awarded scholarships to a record 317 full-time students.
Above: Friends of Hospice presented its contribution to the Vance-Granville Community College Endowment Fund at its Jan. 24 board of trustees meeting at First Baptist Church in Henderson. From left, standing: Friends of Hospice board members Jane Pritchard and Jean Lark (recording secretary), both of Henderson; VGCC Endowment Fund specialist Kay Currin; VGCC Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Endowment Fund director Jo Anna Jones; board members Dot Robertson (president) and Mary Harmon (treasurer), both of Louisburg; and board members Betty-Lynn Wester of Louisburg and Kent Copley of Macon; from left, seated: board members Dot Fowler of Warrenton, Betty White (corresponding secretary) and Becky Faulkner (vice-president), both of Henderson. (VGCC Photo)
