Joliet Junior College Class of 2024 Funds Philanthropy Scholarship

Through $1,535 in donations to the Joliet Junior College (JJC) Foundation, JJC’s 2024 graduating class has funded a new scholarship, the Class of 2024 Philanthropy Scholarship.

At the end of April, the JJC Foundation began promoting its philanthropy cords. For a $5 donation, the donor would receive a purple cord to wear at the commencement ceremony. On May 15 — two days before graduation — the cord fundraiser raised $1,200. By the time graduates were entering the ceremony, the total was $1,535.

“With our fall scholarship application deadline just hours away, our team worked to create the Class of 2024 Philanthropy Scholarship,” said Jen Davis, JJC’s annual giving and alumni relations manager. “This scholarship will be awarded for the first time this fall, and it will go to an incoming freshman with financial need.

“The excitement from every student who walked through our doors to pick up their cord was contagious. One student said, ‘I never knew that a small donation of $5 could add up to something so big! I am so excited to say I have contributed to another student's success.’ She was right.”

With all the scholarship’s donors present, JJC president Dr. Clyne Namuo announced the news during the graduation ceremony, adding another occasion to celebrate on the big day.

The Foundation celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023 and manages $35 million in assets with $18.5 million in endowed funds. The Foundation also awarded more than $1,000,522 in donor-funded scholarships to students in the 2023-24 school year, exceeding the $800,000 gifted in 2022-23.