Barstow, CA – Barstow Community College (BCC) received notification on July 16, 2018, from Rhonda Mohr, the Vice Chancellor of Student Services and Special Programs at the State Chancellor’s office, that the state has awarded a $100,000 grant to BCC. This grant will provide direct aid and services to Military Veteran students at our local college. A large percentage of this award will be allocated directly to students in the form of Text Book Vouchers, Fuel Cards, and School Supplies. A portion will also be used to pay for the construction of additional office space at the college so that Veteran Resources can all be located in a central location on campus offering a one-stop-shop to BCC’s veteran population. This will allow the college to increase the staffing of the college’s Veteran Resource Center (VRC) and add peer mentoring and tutoring to help Veterans adjust to student life.
The grant application that BCC submitted to the state went through a competitive scoring process. BCC is one of only 30 colleges receiving a grant during the original round of VRC funding. The college has been awarded $100,000 of the initial $5 million dollars allocated by the state. BCC personnel have proposed a detailed plan to better serve the Veterans in the Barstow area. The plan includes more outreach to the 2,700+ Veterans who reside in the area. BCC staff estimate that the number of Veteran visits to the VRC will double as a result of this increased outreach. More staff will cover more hours at the VRC, insuring that Veterans are well informed about all of the educational benefits available to them at the college. The overall goal of the VRC is to increase veteran certificate completion, degree completion, and transfer to 4- year colleges and universities.
BCC has a long-standing commitment to serve the Veterans and Military Personnel in this college district. Michelle Bond, is the VA Certifying Official at BCC who will be coordinating these efforts to improve Veteran services. When asked about this grant award, she said, “this funding will allow us to bring together all of the Veteran Resources into a central location that will be much more efficient and helpful to our Veteran students.”
The BCC Board of Trustees supports the college’s commitment to serve the Veterans in our community. Board Vice President, Tim Heiden, is a Veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. Over his 20 years of service as a Trustee, he has been a consistently strong supporter of our veteran students, and the active duty military personnel and their dependents that the college serves at Ft. Irwin. Heiden indicated at a recent Board Meeting that this grant, “will allow us to serve more Veterans at the college and show our appreciation for their service to our community and country.”
For more information about the Veterans Resources now available at BCC, Veterans are invited to visit the campus at: 2700 Barstow Rd., Barstow, CA. The Student Services building in the middle of campus is the best place to start. Online inquiries can also be made on the college website at: www.barstow.edu
