Piedmont Tech Presents A Night of Hope

Piedmont Technical College is hosting a new community outreach event to connect area agencies with those in need.

A Night of Hope will be Thursday, June 29 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Medford Family Event Center on the Lex Walters Campus-Greenwood.

“We’ve been looking at non-traditional students and trying to see what issues they face that have kept them from enrolling in college,” said Darlene Saxon, admissions counselor. “We found there were many barriers.”

Non-traditional students are those not enrolling in college immediately after high school. Because this group is usually older or more focused on work, Saxon said the admissions team took a closer look at those barriers and addressed what was needed for the students to move further and change their lives. Their proposal was to bring together all of the resources necessary under one roof.

A Night of Hope will be an event that brings together resources that members of the community may need.

“We do a lot for our traditional students, but we wanted to do something for this pocket of people,” said Renae Frazier, dean of admissions. “But, they can’t think about going to college when they are worried about putting food on the table or keeping the lights on.”

More than 20 local, state and federal organizations will be in attendance, including such agencies as Department of Social Services, the Hispanic Alliance, 8th Circuit Solicitor’s Office and A Place for Us. Food Bank of Greenwood County will provide food baskets for the first 50 visitors and Way Transit Services is providing transportation for those who need it. Dinner and door prizes will be provided.

 “Before we can focus on recruiting, we need to address what’s preventing them from pursuing an education,” Frazier said. “We want them to have dinner, laugh and walk out with a bag of information and a mind saying ‘it’s possible now.’”

For more information, contact Piedmont Tech’s Office of Admissions at (864) 941-8369. To register, go to www.ptc.edu/hope. 

A complete list of agencies who are participating:

• PTC Continuing Education
• Food Bank of Greenwood County
• SC Department of Social Services
• 8th Circuit Solicitor's Office
• SC Vocational Rehabilitation Department
• Goodwill Industries
• PTC Financial Aid
• Greenwood County Adult Education
• Abbeville County Adult Education
• PTC Veteran Services
• PTC Admissions
• PTC Human Services
• Beyond Abuse
• PTC University Transfer Division
• Abbeville County School District Project Aware
• Precept Staffing
• Edgefield County Adult Education
• Community Initiatives
• PTC Disability Services
• A Place for Us
• Project Hope
• Hispanic Alliance
• SC Works/ SSCWIOA
• Upstate Fathers
• Way Transit Services