Month-in-Review: February 2021

Black History Month: The Future of Black America
This year's Black History Month events were planned by a committee made up of employees representing different departments at ACC. The college's first event, Kickback Black, was a fun and educational trivia event. The second event, Social Distancing Hour: The Future of Black America, explored the complex relationship between Black people and the U.S., from expectations of success to the constant struggle of just being Black. Other topics included healing and progression, ways to capitalize on opportunities, and being the best version of ourselves. The final two events were canceled due to Winter Storm Uri. ACC's Black History Month webpage included profiles of some influential leaders at the college and an interactive message wall for faculty, staff, and students to share ideas, thoughts, and articles related to Black History Month.

#AmplifyACC raises nearly $23,000 in 24 hours
The ACC community came together like never before to support the Alumni Network's #AmplifyACC campaign this year. Nearly $22,870 was raised from 130 donors during Amplify Austin, a community-wide day of charitable giving. This represents an almost 100 percent increase in dollars raised from the 2020 campaign. The college is still collecting match dollars from four ACC challenge sponsors, which are expected to significantly increase the total amount raised. These funds support the Alumni Network Scholarship, ACC's STEPS Adult Education program, and the Support Center-administered Student Emergency Fund (SEF).

There is still time to help the Support Center reach its $50,000 goal for the SEF, which provides emergency assistance directly to ACC students who don't qualify for federal pandemic-related funds. Visit the ACC Foundation page and click "Give Now" to contribute. For assistance, email paula.mcdermott@austincc.edu.

2nd Annual Adulting 101
The second annual ACC Adulting 101 event was held virtually on March 5. The daylong event for individuals transitioning into adulthood was composed of a variety of workshops, panels, and "how-to" sessions ranging from self-care to car maintenance. The event included an employer panel, a "Professional Styling in a Zoom Era" panel hosted by Fashion Incubator director Nina Means, and a virtual dance party to close it out. This event was co-sponsored by the ACC Office of Community Engagement, the ACC Civics Lab, ACC Career Services, ACC Student Life, Foundation Communities, A+ Federal Credit Union, Texas Workforce Solutions, and Red Cross of Central Texas, with the skillful assistance of ACC TLED media. Recordings from the event are available at www.austincc.edu/adulting101.

Employee Appreciation Day
March 9 was National Employee Appreciation Day. The college celebrated virtually by creating an ACC Employee Appreciation Day webpage with a message wall so that college leadership, faculty, and staff could share their appreciation for their fellow Riverbats.

To show his appreciation, Chancellor Dr. Richard Rhodes announced that he was donating $100 a month to the ACC Employee Emergency Fund to support employees who experience an unexpected financial hardship and challenged each member of the Chancellor's Cabinet and anyone in a position to give to do the same.