The VuBay Foundation has been a significant partner to Thomas Nelson Community College funding multiple programs designed to facilitate student success.
In June 2018, Thomas Nelson received an impactful grant from the VuBay Foundation to support taking transfer students to visit Virginia Tech, George Mason, James Madison, and the University of Virginia in the fall. About 45% of Thomas Nelson students plan to transfer; however, many are not financially able to make the visit. This grant covers the transportation, lodging and meal costs for each visit; in doing so, students have access to tour campuses, explore academic programs and take advantage of the “Same Day Acceptance” offered at these universities.
In addition to aiding transfer students, the VuBay Foundation has contributed greatly to Thomas Nelson’s Bridge the Gap program. This program provides funding to students who do not have the resources or finances available to fulfill the cost of tuition, fees and/or book expenses, preventing many students from dropping out. Unlike scholarships, this program is individually tailored to look at a student’s specific needs and the required expenses, which could range from as little as $250 to an average of about $1,100.
The VuBay Foundation also provided funding in 2019 to one of our most successful student success programs, JumpStart. This four-day orientation program benefits first-time freshman and serves as a “summer bridge” program to make students aware of academic and personal support resources. Students are required to submit a one-page essay on career possibilities and, in turn, will receive one credit for their SDV100 - College Success Skills requirement. In addition to JumpStart, VuBay also contributed to Thomas Nelson’s TRiO program. This program assists students that are either first generation college students, meet the government’s low-income threshold, or have a documented disability. In addition, these students also plan to graduate from Thomas Nelson and transfer to a four-year university.
All of these programs and extremely beneficial to the students that utilize them. Without them, many students would not be able to attend or even graduate from Thomas Nelson. For this reason, we cannot thank the VuBay Foundation enough for their continued support of our mission to educate the youth of Hampton Roads.