AT&T Georgia today announced that Georgia Highlands College Foundation has received a $50,000 contribution from the company to sponsor community programs that support their Community Scholarship Program.

The contribution will fund Fabulous Fridays, the Foundation Camp, Young 100 and Writer’s Academy. These community-based programs annually impact more than 1,000 middle school students – mostly at-risk – in the Rome City and Floyd County School System and introduce them to the college experience through hands-on, interactive learning activities.

Georgia Highlands College is a two-year institution serving more than 5,200 students at six instructional sites in Rome, Cartersville, Marietta, Dallas and Douglasville. GHC endeavors to provide each student with a broad general education and the needed skills to compete in our workforce and to participate as a contributing member of our diverse and global society.

“Georgia Highlands College has a long history of providing opportunities to at-risk students,” said Randy Pierce, GHC president. “Investment in educational institutions is critical to our future, especially from companies like AT&T.”

A key component to the AT&T gift includes the purchase of 30 iPads, which will be used to introduce technology into the programs, providing interactive software to stimulate learning and capture the imagination of tweens and teens.

“We’re proud to support the efforts of the Georgia Highlands College Foundation in strengthening their community by promoting educational access,” said Don Barbour, regional director for AT&T Georgia. “It’s important that we prepare students to compete in a global marketplace and this college is making that happen for their students.”

AT&T’s contribution to the Community Scholarship Program represents one of the first pieces of funding designed to build a scholarship endowment of $2 million, which could fund up to 40 scholarships annually for middle-school students. Ultimately, full academic scholarships will be awarded to students ages 10 to 13, contingent upon successful high-school graduation.

Award recipients will be required to maintain a C average, attend classes regularly and remain drug- and crime-free through high school. GHC collaborates with five community organizations – Rome City schools, Floyd County schools, 100 Black Men of Rome – Northwest Georgia, and Communities in Schools, Inc. – to provide a continuous pipeline of at-risk students for the college’s community-based programs.