College holds annual scholarship ceremony

NEWTON — Earlier this month, more than 260 people gathered in the Sussex County Community College Performing Arts Center for the SCCC Foundation’s Annual Scholarship Ceremony.

The annual event is one of the highlights of the year for the college and recognizes students who receive academic, non-academic and athletic scholarships for use in the spring 2015 and fall 2015 semesters. The event also acknowledges the donors who support the funds and the foundation.

The SCCC Foundation is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit that works to build relationships with the community and solicit funding to support the college’s initiatives.

Karen DiMaria, Vice President of Institutional Advancement who also acts as the Executive Director of the Foundation, said that the foundation awards over $130,000 in scholarships to more than 200 students annually.

Scholarships range from $250 book scholarships to $2,000 awards for tuition and fees with additional support for student veterans, and many of the funds are endowed.

“Endowed scholarships are invested so that the interest earned on them is awarded each year. After reaching $10,000, each endowed scholarship will support generations of students for years and years to come,” DiMaria said.

Scholarships are raised by donations from individuals, corporations and foundations and also by four major special events hosted by the foundation each year, the Ladies Saturday Retreat and Skylander Golf Outing, the Skylander 5K/10K Challenge and Annual Scholarship each fall.

For more information about the many offerings at SCCC including available scholarships visit www.sussex.edu.