Gadsden State Community College News October 24, 2012 Gadsden State and Home Depot Celebrate a Victory The Valley Street Campus of Gadsden State Community College was recently awarded a grant from Home Depot designed to provide colleges a chance to upgrade their campuses. Earlier this year, Home Depot offered Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) an opportunity to apply for a Retool Your School Grant with the goal of issuing grants for projects that have a lasting impact. Winners were chosen by a combination of public, online voting and review by a distinguished panel of judges. An important component of the grant process was popular voting from community members as applicants finishing in the top ten HBCUs chosen by popular votes were eligible for grant funding in one of three tiers or options. Gadsden State was the recipient of a $10,000 Tier 2 grant. Grant funds will be used to create student friendly outdoor study spaces with the addition of new landscaping and outdoor furniture. November 1 is scheduled for the Home Depot Project Day. Volunteers from Home Depot, Gadsden State, and the community will begin at 8:00 a.m. and continue until the project is finished. November 15 will be an alternate date if inclement weather presents a challenge. There will be an opening ceremony to kick off the day's event and additional community volunteers are needed. Gadsden Job Corps Center and Quality of Life Health Services are also providing volunteer assistance. Dr. Valerie Richardson, Gadsden State vice president, commented that, "Daniel Landrum, Oxford Home Depot store manager; Carl Kraiza, Home Depot pro sales associate; and Gadsden State's grant team have been instrumental in helping us to develop this project." President Raymond W. Staats said, "We would like to thank everyone in our community for taking time to vote. Without your support we would not have been considered for this grant. Our students are excited about the opportunity to beautify the campus and grateful for the community involvement." For more information or to volunteer contact Misti Morgan, at 256-549-8270 or mmorgan@gadsdenstate.edu<mailto:mmorgan@gadsdenstate.edu>. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-520-0593 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.