Hannaford Charitable Foundation invests in new academic building at York County Community College
$500,000 gift supports expanded educational access for York County
SOUTH PORTLAND, ME – A $500,000 gift from the Hannaford Charitable Foundation to The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges will support a new academic building at York County Community College (YCCC) in Wells and increase access to higher education for residents of York County.
YCCC has grown dramatically since its founding in1994 and now serves 1,700 students in a building meant for 1,100. The college’s dramatic growth has placed serious constraints on its ability to serve both current and prospective students.
In supporting the construction of the new building, the gift from Hannaford will enable the college to expand to serve up to 2,400 students and will allow the College to build on efforts to improve student success through the creation of a learning laboratory that will provide students with individualized and self-paced instruction. The facility will also include standard and flexible classrooms, a student learning commons, lecture hall, and study areas for both individual and small group work.
“Hannaford Supermarkets is excited to help provide southern Maine students with the classrooms and modern learning materials they need at York County Community College,” said Dick Morin, the grocer’s Director of Operations for southern Maine. “The increasing enrollment numbers show that people understand education is a foundation for success in life and for the health of our community.”
“This generous gift from the Hannaford Charitable Foundation will have a major educational impact on York County,” said Jane Phillips, the president of The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges. “It will enable York County Community College to continue to grow and serve more students and more businesses who rely on a skilled workforce to prosper.”
Construction on the new building is scheduled to begin this fall and to be completed in time for the start of the fall 2017 semester. Other funding sources for the $8.4 million project include a 2013 voter approved bond issue, college funds, support from the Maine Community College System, and private fund raising.
This is the second major gift from the Hannaford Charitable Foundation to The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges. An earlier gift of $500,000 funded initiatives on multiple campuses including the Hannaford Center for Culinary Arts at YCCC; support for the culinary arts and diesel, truck and heavy equipment programs at Eastern Maine Community College; and major new investments in technology and equipment at Southern Maine Community College’s Midcoast Campus in Brunswick. In recognition of that gift, SMCC dedicated the Hannaford Auditorium on the Midcoast Campus in October 2013.
Hannaford Supermarkets, based in Scarborough, Maine, operates 189 stores in the Northeast. Stores are located in Maine, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Hannaford employs more than 27,000 associates. Additional information can be found at www.hannaford.com.
The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges is dedicated to ensuring that Maine’s seven community colleges have the resources they need to provide a high quality, affordable, and accessible college education for Maine people. More information about the Foundation is available at: www.maineccfoundation.org. Information about the Maine Community College System is available at www.mccs.me.edu.