RALEIGH: The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation of Winston-Salem has awarded $200,000 to the N. C. Community Colleges Foundation, Inc. for a major project to increase the participation of Hispanics in community college training and education.

The grant, payable over two years, will cover the cost of personnel and support costs for the Hispanic/Latino Initiative and support the establishment of a Hispanic/Latino Advisory Board for the N. C. Community College System.

H. Martin Lancaster, President of the N. C. Community College System, accepted the grant. He said, "Community colleges fill a real need across the state in giving foreign born students the language skills they need to succeed in college, in work and in life. However, as the Latino population continues to increase dramatically, we owe it to our Latino citizens to offer them the full range of programs enjoyed by other citizens. That offer without significant assistance is an empty offer. This Z. Smith Reynolds grant will enable us to develop programs to give meaningful assistance to Latinos so they can benefit from the full community college experience."

Between 1990 and 2000, the official census of Hispanics in North Carolina showed a growth of almost 400 percent to more than 379,000. Many of the new immigrants have little formal education and training and limited English skills. The statewide initiative will help community colleges move Hispanics through literacy and other basic skills programs into higher-level workforce training and education. It will supplement extensive work already underway in a number of community colleges.

With 59 institutions, the N. C Community College System is recognized internationally for its top-quality workforce education and training and strong support for economic development. The system enrolls almost 800,000 students each year.

The North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation, Inc., which will receive the grant, is a non-profit corporation chartered in 1986 to help sustain and strengthen the programs and services of the North Carolina Community College System. Dwight Allen, Executive Vice President of the N. C. Telephone Cooperative Coalition, is current chairman of the Board of Directors.

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation was established in 1936 as a memorial to the youngest son of the founder of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. R. J. Reynolds Jr., Mary Reynolds Babcock and Nancy Susan Reynolds Bagley provided that their inheritance from the estate of their brother, Z. Smith Reynolds, would go to a trust to benefit the people of North Carolina. Their uncle William Neal Reynolds, an original trustee, also created a trust that provides a portion of the Foundation's annual income.

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation has made grants totaling more than $322 million with recipients in all 100 North Carolina counties. The Foundation currently gives special attention to community building and economic development; environment; governance, public policy and civic engagement; pre-collegiate education; and social justice and equity.

As part of its fiftieth anniversary celebration in 1986, the Foundation established the Nancy Susan Reynolds Awards to recognize people who have made a difference in community leadership and have gone largely unrecognized. In May of 1989, the Foundation established a sabbatical program for exceptional leaders in non-profit organizations.

For details about the grant and the Hispanic/Latino Initiative, contact Dr. Delores Parker, NCCCS Vice President for Academic and Student Services, 919-733-7051.

For details about the N. C. Community College System, contact the External Affairs Office in Raleigh, 919-733-7051.

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