Nashville State Community College Foundation Awarded $392,860 to Support Students

The Nashville State Community College Foundation has been awarded $392,860 through the Tennessee Community CARES Program to aid the College’s COVID-19 response efforts to support students.

“We love our students and work to support them on a daily basis in so many ways,” said Lauren Bell, executive director, of Nashville State Community College Foundation. “This funding allows the College to step up in an even bigger way to meet student needs.”

Earlier this summer, Governor Bill Lee, the Tennessee Department of Human Services, and the Financial Stimulus Accountability Group launched the Tennessee Community CARES Program, through funds appropriated by Congress as a response to COVID-19. Nashville State Community College Foundation applied and was awarded the nearly $400,000 grant, which is being administered by the United Way of Greater Nashville through the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

Funds were granted to the Nashville State Community College Foundation to support students, specifically for:

• Expansion of Technology Lending Capabilities: The additional purchase of equipment to supplement the College’s new technology lending library, which has already provided hundreds of students with laptops, hotspots, and calculators for the fall semester. These items will continue to be available for checkout through the White Bridge Road campus’ Mayfield Library for use at home. The grant will allow for the purchase of 600 laptops, 100 external monitors, 100 HDMI cables, and 100 graphing calculators.

• Expansion of Food Assistance: The College has an on-campus food pantry program, the Campus Cupboard, run by the Foundation for students in need. With this grant, the Foundation will implement inventory management software that includes an online ordering function so students can place weekly pantry orders online, volunteers can then safely pack and prepare orders for curbside pickup. The Campus Cupboard will launch an additional pantry site at the College’s Humphreys County campus. Additionally, refrigerators and freezers will be added to all pantry sites for expanded food offerings.

• Expansion of Student Social Services: The grant will support the hiring of new part-time staff member who will help students impacted by COVID-19 apply for SNAP benefits. That staff member will also provide case management support to the United Way of Greater Nashville’s existing Nashville State student resource manager, whose office is located at the White Bridge Road campus.