Dixon pledges $25,000 to SVCC Impact Program

Earned tuition program raising $10 million

Enrollment at Sauk Valley Community College is up 15% in the 2022 spring semester from the 2021 fall semester.

DIXON –The Dixon City Council is committing $25,000 for the Sauk Valley Community College Impact Program.

SVCC’s earned-tuition Impact program provides eligible students, who graduate within the college’s district, the opportunity to earn tuition and fees for up to three years at SVCC, or until they earn their certificate or degree, by volunteering in the community.

“The Impact Program touches on everything we discuss collectively as representatives of municipal government,” council member Mary Oros said. “It not only engages our youth and exposes them to the many nonprofits and small businesses our community has to offer, it provides an opportunity to further their education in the hopes that we can retain an invested, talented workforce. They are the next generation of this community. I can’t think of a better way to support the development and prosperity of our town than to invest in them.”

Of the 829 impact program students, 117 are Dixon freshmen who have volunteered more than 1,332 hours since June 1.

The city of Rock Falls previously pledged $25,000, and Sterling Township donated $10,000 to the program.

“We applaud the leadership of the city of Dixon. They join the ranks of Sterling Township, the city of Rock Falls and others who are choosing to invest in our future workforce,” said Bill Wescott, of the Sauk Valley College Foundation Board. “We appreciate their leadership and continued support of the Sauk Valley and Impact students within the college.”

Sauk President Dave Hellmich recently spoke during a council budget meeting and said the impact program is the greatest economic development project in the region since the founding of the college.

They’re about halfway to their $10 million fundraising campaign goal for the program, and Milledgeville, Prophetstown and Fulton have full endowments for their impact students, he said.

The program has many benefits, including engaging students in the community and fostering volunteerism, City Manager Danny Langloss said.

“We don’t see as much volunteerism; it’s fewer and farther between, and we’re not seeing the younger community connect in that way,” Langloss said.

Rachel Rodgers

Rachel Rodgers

Rachel Rodgers joined Sauk Valley Media in 2016 covering local government in Dixon and Lee County.