Bank of America Awards $150,000 Grant to Support HCCC Experiential Learning Program

Hudson County Community College has received a $150,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to expand its Gateway to Innovation (GTI) Program. The funding will support the development of a new initiative focused on paid, non-credit work-based learning experiences.

The GTI Experiential Learning Opportunities Program will include job shadowing, mentoring, and internships that lead to industry-recognized credentials. Fifty students are expected to participate in the pilot, which will also fund a full-time Internship Coordinator and offer wraparound services such as childcare, transportation, and access to HCCC’s Hudson Helps Resource Center.

“We are profoundly grateful to Bank of America Charitable Foundation for this investment in our Gateway to Innovation program,” said HCCC President Dr. Christopher Reber. “The funding will help us develop and pilot the GTI Experiential Learning Opportunities Program as a scalable model.”

The GTI Program, launched in 2021, connects service industry workers with career pathways in fields like health care, information technology, logistics, and finance. It has received national recognition, including a Bellwether College Consortium Workforce Development Award finalist designation and the League for Innovation in the Community College’s 2022–2023 Innovation of the Year Award.

“Providing support to organizations like the Hudson County Community College Foundation that are offering critical services and programs is just one of the ways we are helping improve the quality of life in the communities we serve,” the foundation stated.