Golden LEAF Scholarship deadline March 1, 2012

Linda Lamp of Western Carolina Communities forwarded this letter, replete with scholarship information to the Golden Valley Community Club. I can forward the original email with links if you're interested.

Greetings!

The Golden LEAF Scholarship deadline is approaching. Applications are due March 1 and can be accessed at CFNC.org/goldenleaf. A total of 215 awards will be offered to first-time recipients to assist with tuition at participating institutions for the 2012-13 academic year. The awards are valued at $12,000 ($3,000 per year for up to four years) for students from qualifying counties attending a participating North Carolina campus and are funded by a grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation.




Candidates must submit a Golden LEAF scholarship application, available at CFNC.org/goldenleaf; a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), available at www.fafsa.gov; and a current high school or community college transcript no later than March 1.



To help with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process, on Feb. 18 college financial specialists and college aid professionals will be available across the state to help families complete and submit their forms online. FAFSA Day programs will be hosted by every county in the state that morning. Click here to find a FAFSA Day location near you, the program times and to register to attend.



For information about the Golden LEAF Scholarship and other college funding opportunities, contact College Foundation of North Carolina at 866-866-CFNC. This is a free service.



Also click here to check out another opportunity for youth and young adults in rural North Carolina through the NC Rural Center’s New Generation Initiative.



In this edition of “Golden LEAF News,” read about job creation and/or training programs in Henderson, Forsyth, Davidson, and Lenoir counties. Learn more about the Golden LEAF Community Assistance Initiative (CAI) process in McDowell and Beaufort counties and a (CAI) project at work in Cumberland County. Find out about opportunities for poultry and rabbit producers in the west and opportunities for farmers to learn to market their products through social media. Read about historic preservation training opportunities in Edgecombe County and entrepreneurship education and training in Surry County. See how STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs are forming in Lenoir and Jones counties. Finally, check out how to apply for Golden LEAF scholarship opportunities and see current scholarship recipients.





Best,

Jenny Tinklepaugh

Program/ Communications Officer

jtinklepaugh@goldenleaf.org

www.goldenleaf.org



In this edition of "Golden LEAF News":



Applications for Golden LEAF Foundation Scholarships due March 1

The Business Journals

Applications for the 2012-13 Golden LEAF Foundation scholarship program are now available at CFNC.org/goldenleaf. A total of 215 awards will be offered to first-time recipients to assist with tuition at participating institutions for the 2012-13 academic year. The awards are valued at $12,000 ($3,000 per year for up to four years) for students from qualifying counties attending a participating North Carolina campus and are funded by a grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation. Candidates must submit a Golden LEAF scholarship application, available at CFNC.org/goldenleaf; a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), available at www.fafsa.gov; and a current high school or community college transcript no later than March 1. A complete list of program requirements, participating campuses and qualifying counties can be viewed at CFNC.org/goldenleaf.



$1.5 million grant from One North Carolina Fund helps bring Sierra Nevada Brewing to WNC

Mountain Xpress

Gov. Bev Perdue recently announced that Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., an independent, family-owned pioneer in craft brewing, will locate a brewing facility for the East Coast in Mills River as well as an onsite restaurant. The project was made possible in part by a Golden LEAF grant. The company plans to create 95 full-time jobs as part of the grant and invest $107.5 million during the next five years in Henderson County. In addition the company expects to hire another 80 part-time employees and expects to create about 60 construction and mechanical jobs during its 24-month building phase. These jobs will be created in gradual phases starting in mid to late 2012 and continuing through 2013.



Community college prepares students for Caterpillar careers (click here for video)

News 14 Carolina

Caterpillar is a company that is bringing jobs back to the U.S. from overseas. It has opened an axle plant in the Triad and classes are under way at Forsyth Tech's Caterpillar Training Facility in Kernersville. The company plans to hire dozens of workers over the next few months and the community college is working to make sure those future workers are prepared. According to college officials, the training facility would not have happened without community partnerships and several grants. A Golden LEAF Foundation grant provided funding for D48 simulators, equipment integral to the training process.



Sale and leaseback deal can benefit the local community

Asset Finance International

North Carolina-based TIMCO Aviation Services provides aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services and aerospace manufactured products to a broad array of commercial, government and military customers. Davidson County in North Carolina stands to benefit from a deal involving the sale and leaseback of equipment with TIMCO Aerosystems with a grant from the non-profit community development corporation the Golden LEAF Foundation. As part of the deal, the county is purchasing and will lease back to TIMCO a deceleration sled that will be used for crash-testing airplane seats manufactured in the company's Wallburg facility, as well as a data acquisition system. By leasing the equipment to TIMCO, the county will get its money back in full, plus interest.



Funds secured for industrial sewer expansion

$1.25 million Golden LEAF grant obtained; city, county also commit toward $4.3 million expansion at Industrial Park

Kinston Free Press

The Golden LEAF Foundation awarded a $1.25 million grant to the City of Kinston to expand public sewer capacity at the U.S. 70 West Industrial Park. The city of Kinston and Lenoir County have each agreed to commit up to $775,000. With the expanded sewer capacity, Smithfield will create 330 new full time jobs. Additional sewer capacity at the park would help create capacity to recruit more tenants.



Golden LEAF request: Universal site upgrade

County aims for $2.2 million from foundation

McDowell News

McDowell County could get approximately $2 million in grant money from the Golden LEAF Foundation Community Assistance Initiative. McDowell County will seek to get $2.2 million in Golden LEAF money in order to help pay for the upgrades to the old Universal Bedroom Furniture plant and also fix up vacated space at the community college. The site, which includes a nearly 400,000-square-foot building and 315 acres of land, could be used for the long-term expansion needs of McDowell Technical Community College and provide space for small industries. The county school system could also make use of the site. As a backup project, the commissioners also agreed to submit a request for $200,000 that will be used for an access road to county-owned property located off of Ashworth Road.



LEAF finds consensus

Washington Daily News

At the last Golden LEAF Foundation’s Community Assistance Initiative meeting in Beaufort County, community leaders discussed, dissected and debated their words one last time before those words became the guidelines by which proposals for $2 million in grant money would be considered. Over the past four months, representatives from the county’s government and nonprofit entities have worked together to determine where Beaufort County’s funding priorities lie: economic development and infrastructure, education and workforce development and health and wellness. A request for proposals was sent out with a Feb. 10 deadline for submittal. On Feb. 23, Golden LEAF officials will return to provide feedback on the proposals.



Paying for college made easier

Foundation offers help for finding financial aid

Kinston Free Press

On Feb. 18, college financial aid officers and specialists will be available across the state to help families complete and submit their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms online. FAFSA Day programs will be hosted by every county in the state that morning. FAFSA forms must be filled out by every student hoping to receive federal — and most state — financial aid for college, including scholarships and grants. Students in qualifying counties, such as Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties, also can apply for one of 215 scholarships from the Golden LEAF Foundation. These awards are valued at $12,000 ($3,000 per year for up to four years) for students from qualifying counties attending a participating North Carolina campus. Applications are due on March 1. For more information about FAFSA and Golden LEAF Scholarship opportunities, contact College Foundation of North Carolina at 866-866-CFNC.



Rich Square college fair provides school, funding options

Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald

On Feb. 1, Rich Square W.S. Creecy Training and Community Center sponsored a college fair for middle school, high school and community-college students and their parents. In addition to more than 20 college and universities attending, the college fair also featured a variety of workshops with the College Foundation of North Carolina about financial aid, Golden LEAF Foundation scholarship opportunities and the National Collegiate Athletic Association for student athletes. More than 300 students were expected to attend the fair with 255 students already registered from Northampton County Schools, Bertie County Schools, Hertford County Public Schools and Edgecombe County Public Schools. The center is provided lunch for the students.



Golden LEAF Expands Scholarships to $750 K

Inside Stanly

Students from Stanly Community College (SCC) have received scholarships through the Golden LEAF Scholarship program for the North Carolina Community College System. The Golden LEAF Scholarship program, designed to help North Carolinians attend the state’s community colleges, is funded through a $750,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation, an increase of $250,000 from previous years. The Golden LEAF Board recognized the challenge North Carolinians face in these tough economic times to attend college to retool and prepare for emerging job opportunities. Therefore, the additional $250,000 helps to insure more scholarship funds are available for citizens seeking to enhance their employability skills. Click here to see the curriculum students and continuing education students who received scholarships at SCC.



New Marion processing plant to give poultry producers a boost

Asheville Citizen-Times

Mountain poultry and rabbit producers now have a place to take their animals for processing, and it’s billed as “the first community-administered, nonprofit meat processing facility in the U.S.” The Foothills Pilot Plant — a collaborative effort of state and local governments, small-scale meat animal producers and grant-making agencies — will open a few days ahead of schedule. Because the plant will be run under the authority of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, meat processed at the plant can be transported and sold across state lines. Funding came from three major sources the N.C. Golden LEAF Foundation, the N.C. Rural Center and the Appalachian Regional Commission. The facility can process chickens, turkeys and rabbits. Once processed, the packaged meat is returned to the farmer and ready for sale.



Farming 2.0

Mountain Times

A Social Media for Farmers workshop was held on Jan. 31 at the Watauga Agricultural Conference County Center in Boone. The all-day hands-on workshop was designed especially for farmers and taught by social media experts to teach the power of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to reach new customers and grow farm business. The workshop was funded by a grant from the Golden LEAF foundation, with additional support from the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Watauga County Center.



Local Demand Drives Weekend Courses in Historic Preservation

The Daily Southerner

In response to local demand, the Edgecombe Community College has developed several new courses in the historic preservation trades program. One of the new classes "Preservation of Farm Structures” will focus on teaching methods of preserving historic dependency buildings, like tobacco barns. Students will visit several nearby structures and work on various ways of stabilizing the buildings. In addition to a certificate that can be obtained through six weekend classes, a one-year diploma and a two-year degree also are available. Edgecombe is one of only five community colleges in the nation that offers a program in historic preservation and the only one in North Carolina. The historic preservation program is supported by the Golden LEAF Foundation. To register or for more information about the program, contact Monika Fleming at 823-5166, ext. 241, or email flemingm@edgecombe.edu.



Program to teach business skills

Mount Airy News

Thanks to a $100,000 Golden LEAF grant NCREAL (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) is set to help spur entrepreneurial development in the region. The new regional initiative was announced during a kickoff celebration at Surry Community College. The grant was awarded last year by the Golden LEAF Foundation to help fund NCREAL (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) to help develop a spirit of small business creation in the region. The goal of the program is to help people in small rural communities across North Carolina learn how to develop a viable business through hands-on programs and a network of knowledgeable support. The program will be integrated into the public school systems in Surry and Yadkin counties as well as the region’s community colleges, school leaders said.



Contentnea-Savannah receives first math-based middle school learning center in state

Kinston Free Press

An interactive math-learning center at Contentnea-Savannah K8 School is the first of its kind in the state. The project-based center is housed at the school’s computer lab and will allow students to have hands-on experience with math. Modules will be based on topics such as sports statistics, unsolved mysteries, climate change and projectile motion. The learning center was funded through the Golden LEAF, the STEM East Initiative, the Committee of 100 and Spirit AeroSystems, and offers a tangible demonstration of adaptive learning in Eastern North Carolina. Jones Middle School in Trenton opened a similar science-based technology learning center in November, funded by a $350,000 Golden LEAF grant. The learning center will consist of 10 modules, including flight simulation, bridge-building, engine maintenance and forensic science.



At Your Library: Turn to Cumberland library for job help

Fayetteville Observer

Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center received a $61,640 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to provide even more help. The grant provides 10 laptop computers for each of our eight library branches. These laptops are used for hands-on training to learn how to obtain a job and to succeed in today's digital workforce. One exciting opportunity is free help to prepare for the North Carolina Career Readiness Certificate. Library staff will use the laptops provided by the Golden LEAF grant in programs such as Resume and Job Search Drop-In Clinics, classes on using PipelineNC.com to search for jobs, or small group classes on basic computer skills. Hours, locations and contact numbers are available at cumberland.lib.nc.us, or call 483-7727.