Leaders from TJC and area businesses gathered last week on the College’s main campus to learn about the economic impact of the TJC Promise and how they can help ensure the future of the community.
Speakers included TJC alumnus and Tyler Mayor Martin Heines, Tyler Economic Development Council CEO Tom Mullins and TISD Superintendent Dr. Marty Crawford, whose son has pledged to be a TJC Promise Scholar.
The program included the announcement of the 2018 TJC Promise Partners, who have made a combined gift of over $1.1 million. These Partners challenged Tyler’s business community to match their collective commitment at a two-to-one ratio. The goal is to raise more than $3 million in new contributions as a result of the challenge.
2018 TJC Promise Partners include: Anonymous Contributor, Cloud Ingenuity, Express Personnel, RW Fair Foundation, HGR General Contractors, Julietta Jarvis Foundation and WorkHub/Lisa and Michael Lujan.
The TJC Promise program has been developed to build and strengthen the college-going culture in East Texas and provides an earned scholarship to deserving high school graduates in the TJC taxing district.
In the first 18 months of fundraising, TJC has confirmed more than $8.4 million of the $20 million it is aiming to attain by fall 2020, when the first class of students participating in this program start at TJC. Already 2,245 students at high schools in the college’s tax district have taken the pledge to participate in the TJC Promise program.
For more information, go to www.tjc.edu/promise.