The CCCC Educational Foundation funds innovative projects on campus through an annual competitive grant process. Since 1994, the College Foundation has provided nearly $170,000 in seed money for some 116 different initiatives on campus through this special grant program. 

Congratulations to the 2009 recipients of the Foundation Enhancement Grants!  These projects are funded with an unrestricted allocation by the Foundation Board, as well as partially by the Muriel Farmer Fund. The grant committee selects innovative and creative projects that enhance a student’s experience and the teaching/learning process. Priority is given to projects that support development of technology-based instructional deliveries, projects that enhance institutional diversity or the institution’s response to diversity, or projects that are designed to improve student success and retention.

The 2009 Enhancement Grant award recipients are:

• Specialized Nursing Learning Management System for Fundamentals of Nursing to enhance student success and retention – $1,000, Gayle Ridgeway    MyNursingLab.com is a cutting-edge, interactive online learning tool which offers an abundant collection of resources and tools for Nursing students. In order to enhance students’ experiences, faculty support, and continued success and retention, this platform needs further integration into the Nursing Program’s existing curriculum. This grant allows for faculty development in the areas of learning technology, application of technology to healthcare, and sustainability.
• Arts in Science Internship - $1,000, Hemant Chikarmane    Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs), such as illustrations, video clips, and models, helps the general student grasp concepts better. A suitable mechanism to encourage our “artsy” science students to develop RLOs is via paid internships. This grant will pay for the interns’ wages and for cost of materials.  The hands-on activities, that the RLOs provide, are enjoyed by students, and lead to improved learning and retention of the basics of the discipline. 
• Honors Colloquium: Social Justice: Agents of Change - $1,500, Kate Martin    This seminar will explore the power individuals can have in effecting social change through student research. Various successful grassroots movements throughout the world will be explored, during memoirs, visiting lecturers, news stories, and films. This grant will be applied only to the course offerings specifically. This colloquium will increase the student’s understanding of the power of single voices, when combined for a common goal.
• Katrina: the K Word - $1,500, Nancy Willets    The Arts & Communication department plan to produce the play, “Katrina: the K Word”, both on campus and at three local high schools (Sandwich, Barnstable, and Dennis-Yarmouth). This grant will be added to the theatre program’s existing budget and a grant from the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod to pay for the travel component, the larger cast, and the need to hire designers and a director. We believe that by producing “Katrina: the K Word” it will help to disseminate a socially relevant message, make the audience aware of the lasting Impact of hurricane Katrina, and elicit support for its victims.
• Consultant for CCCC Inaugural Peer Tutor Training Sessions - $1,000, Diane West    The newly designed CCCC Peer Tutoring Program began this semester and includes ten Learning Specialists mentoring 30 peer tutors.  To meet College Reading and Learning Association certification requirements, each of the three levels of peer tutoring (Regular, Advanced, and Master) requires 15 hours of training. This grant will provide training. This program is designed to improve student success, retention, and persistence toward student goals.
• One College, One Book: A Community of Readers, Spring Semester 2010 - $1,000, Jeanmarie Fraser    This program is a collaborative effort made up of members of the College community. Their goals are to encourage reading for pleasure, encourage conversations about important social issues, build community, and teach readers’ about ourselves, our community, and our world through a series of events in conjunction with the book, The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. This grant will help cover the expenses for books, lectures, films, and student debates. One College, One Book will provide a common experience that will enhance our understanding of issues that impact our community.
• Field Trip to the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts - $211, Michael Olendzenski    The field trip to the Higgins Armory Museum teaches students about medieval and renaissance armory and weaponry through demonstrations and commentaries. It improves ENL218 (The Arthurian Legend) students’ success, retention, and persistence to commencement. This grant will cover transportation to and from the museum, gas, and the rental of the museum’s lunchroom.
• Service Learning Expansion-Faculty Syllabi Workshop - $750, Lisa Heller Boragine    Currently there is a small core of faculty using service learning work in their classes at the college. With this grant, five additional faculty will be provided with hands-on, practical service learning workshops to incorporate service learning into their syllabi.  We should be able to increase the number of involved service learning students by at least 25% through the implementation of this program.
• 2010 Nontraditional Career Day - $1,000, Maria Sastre    The “Nontraditional Career Day” for Middle School students encourages gratifying career choices, understanding and overcoming stereotyping, and promoting proficiency and competent skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). This grant will fund transportation and food at the event, two of the largest costs of the day. CCCC has been a partner in the success of this event and benefits by our contribution to enriching all levels of the community.