"I want to come to school so that I can learn more skills for the American workforce, and not have to scrub floors." That’s the dream that an international student—an immigrant and a refugee—shared with Rosemarie Freeland, Outreach Coordinator for the Women’s Resource Center at Greenfield Community College.

She came to the right place. "Education is probably one of the most important ways to overcome economic barriers," says Freeland, who helps women who are returning to school make connections with community agencies that can provide needed support, such as childcare vouchers. In that same space women find computers, a food pantry, a clothing exchange and, perhaps most importantly, a supportive community of their peers whose successes prove that education does indeed "make dreams reality."

"Making dreams reality" has become the theme of the GCC Foundation, according to Allen J. Davis, Executive Director, whose personal contacts and fundraising expertise secured the crucial grants for the Women’s Resource Center from the Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation of Modesto, CA. "In this case," says Davis, "a private foundation has come through to support a deserving group of students at GCC. That’s the exception, actually. Invariably, it’s the generosity of individuals and businesses from the local community who truly make dreams reality at GCC."

Since 1968, the Greenfield Community College Foundation has invested in the hope of a better life through education for a broad cross-section of Franklin and Hampshire Counties. GCC success stories include: women, especially older women in transition from home, work, or welfare; outstanding students for whom GCC represents the best value for their education dollar; adults making a career change; workers seeking to upgrade their skills; immigrants starting a new life; gifted high school students who earn both their high school diploma and their associate’s degree at GCC, and struggling students for whom GCC is their best and only chance to redeem their future.

Many of these groups intersect at the Women’s Resource Center, which logged 236 "visits" in November of 2001, according to the Center’s sign-in sheet, which users initial as they enter. "They are all very able women who have huge amounts of issues, problems, and obstacles to surmount," says Sue McGowan, counselor and advisor to the Women in Transition Program at GCC. McGowan, Freeland, and Professor Anne Wiley oversee a constellation of services which also include academic and personal advising, and special course sections for women entering the College.

"Many of the women we work with are facing huge financial barriers," says McGowan. "But the thing I love about working with them is that they’re such a courageous group of women. They’re so ready and willing to accept whatever you can offer, and they make huge strides."

These strides take many forms. "Graduation is certainly one kind of success story," says McGowan. "Another success story is simply managing to remain in school. Given the personal situations they’re dealing with, you wonder, ‘Oh, my goodness—is this the right time for them to be doing this?’ But there’s a tenacity to remain in school and the fact that they continue at all is the real success story."

Rosemarie Freeland shares this woman’s story: "I met her when she came in to help her 19-year-old daughter, who was expecting her first child, register for classes. As I explained the Women in Transition program to them both, her mother said, ‘I will be back.’ She was a CNA, a certified nursing assistant, and she knew that in order to make more money, she needed more education. Right before the spring semester started last year, she came knocking on my door. ‘I’m here!’ she announced. She’s sacrificed a lot in that she’s decreased her work hours in order to put her education first. Her daughter is at this time taking care of her baby and will return to GCC when it’s possible for her. But the mother is already realizing her own dream."

Sue McGowan dreams of a larger space for the Women’s Resource Center: "We need more room for our clothing exchange, and we would love to have a sink and running water. The room is getting a lot of use, so it can get crowded in there. Some of that is fun, but it gets a little crazy."

Dreaming is encouraged at the GCC Foundation, for it leads to the kind of goals that inspire community support. Scholarships, support for the library, professional development that keeps faculty and staff at the peak of their profession, and the performing and fine arts at GCC are four of the current priorities for the 2003 Annual Fund Campaign. Student success stories help "make the case" to donors. So do the success stories of communities, businesses and organizations. "Look around you—" says Davis, "everywhere you look you find GCC alums who are making a difference in our communities."

In 2002 the College celebrated 40 years of making dreams reality, and it’s truer than ever: To all who dare to dream of a new future for themselves, hope’s address is Greenfield Community College.

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