Ioannis Pashakis//December 10, 2021
Ioannis Pashakis//December 10, 2021
The PNC Foundation announced this week that it will be awarding HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, $112,500 in grant funding over the next three years to train and recruit low- to moderate-income Black students for roles as police officers and emergency medical technicians (EMTs).
Scholarships through the grant will cover full tuition for 36 Black students looking to join HACC’s Municipal Police Academy or EMT program. The grant was created to create a talent pipeline for the region to increase diversity among its police and EMTs, the organizations wrote in a press release.
“Thanks to this collaboration with HACC, we will be one step closer to ensuring that our heroic first responders reflect the communities they serve,” said Jim Hoehn, PNC regional president in Central Pa. “This initiative brings PNC’s focus on diversity and inclusion together with our belief that education is a force for economic and social mobility.”
The grant is part of PNC’s Community Benefits Plan announced last April, part of a previously announced commitment of more than $1 billion to support economic empowerment opportunities for Black Americans and low- and moderate- income communities.
“HACC is grateful for the support from the PNC Foundation that will enable us to provide new career opportunities for members of our Black community,” said John Sygielski, HACC president and CEO. “Using these funds provided by the PNC Foundation, the HACC Foundation will award scholarships to fully cover all tuition and educational costs associated with these programs. Since one of HACC’s core values is ‘inclusivity,’ this initiative exemplifies our authentic and action-oriented commitment to this value.”