Provided by Bucks County Community College:
The Bucks County Community College Foundation presented its annual Community Awards March 17, recognizing individuals and organizations that have made a difference for Bucks students. (From left-right) College President Stephanie Shanblatt and Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia were on hand to congratulate Partnership Award Winner Gene Epstein, Education Award Winner James Sell, Volunteer Award Winner Betty Tsai and Community Award Winner Erin Lukoss, executive director of the Bucks County Opportunity Council. They were joined by BCCC Board of Trustees Chairman James Dancy (right).
Credit: Bucks County Community College
The Bucks County Community College Foundation presented its annual Community Awards Thursday, March 17, recognizing several individuals and organizations for the support they’ve provided the public, two-year college. The honors were presented at the 8th Annual Bucks Community Awards & Breakfast, sponsored by Comcast and Horizon Services.
The awards acknowledge the support of James Sell, Executive Director, Bucks County Community College Lower Bucks Campus; the Bucks County Opportunity Council; the Gene & Marlene Epstein Humanitarian Fund; and Professor Emerita Betty Tsai.
“With public resources being stretched, it is more important than ever that we foster private philanthropic partnerships,” said Frederick Schea, President of the BCCC Foundation Board of Directors. “We value such alliances that are mutually beneficial, focused on opportunity and potential, and rooted in what is best for our community.”
Honored were:
Education Category: James Sell, Executive Director, Bucks County Community College Lower Bucks Campus. Sell held several positions at the college before becoming the Lower Bucks Campus Executive Director shortly before the new building opened in 2007. The Bucks alumnus, who has always been active in the Foundation’s fundraising events, became very involved in 2010 when the college opened the Gallery at the Lower Bucks Campus. The “Show Some HeART” art show and sale at the gallery have raised close to $15,000 for scholarships and introduced hundreds of people to the college. Sell is a very strong advocate for the college and is involved in several community organizations in the Bristol area.
Community Category: Bucks County Opportunity Council. The Bucks County Opportunity Council’s mission is to reduce poverty and partner with the community to promote economic self-sufficiency. The Economic Self-Sufficiency Program, created in the 1990s, empowers low-income families with the education, skills and resources needed to achieve and maintain economic self-sufficiency without any future need for cash welfare subsidies. In 2012, the college partnered with the Opportunity Council to establish the Gateway to Economic Self-Sufficiency Scholarship, which has been awarded 17 times to their clients for their education at Bucks. More than $90,000 has been raised in that time period. In addition, the BCCC Foundation and BCOC have partnered to revitalize the Wheelz2Work car-donation program in partnership with the Gene & Marlene Epstein Humanitarian Fund.
Partnership Category: Gene & Marlene Epstein Humanitarian Fund. The Epsteins established the Bridge to Higher Education Scholarship Program through a partnership between the BCCC Foundation and the Gene & Marlene Epstein Humanitarian Fund. Started in 2008, the program awards up to ten $1,500 scholarships to high school students from low-income families every year. The family foundation is also currently partnering with the BCCC Foundation and the Bucks County Opportunity Council on the Wheelz2Work car-donation program, which provides low-income families with reliable transportation. Gene Epstein, an avid car collector, generously displayed ten classic cars from his collection at the college’s 50th anniversary Community Day celebration in 2015. The husband and wife have a deep passion for the community and have championed many causes in education, employment and healthcare for Bucks County’s most vulnerable residents over the years.
Volunteer Category: Professor Emerita Betty Tsai. Tsai retired as a faculty librarian in 2005 after 34 years of service to the college. She was one of the original designers of the Integration of Knowledge course, a capstone multidisciplinary class, and has traveled to Taiwan and China to learn the art of tea. Tsai was extremely active in the American Library Association, and she was awarded the Ching-Chih Chen Leadership Award by the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association. She is also a practitioner of Ikebana: the art of Japanese flower arrangement, and is involved with a group that emphasizes “Friendship through Flowers.” In 2008, Tsai established the “Salute to Mothers” Scholarship, an award given to female students who are supporting at least one child while in school. The overwhelming response from students inspired Betty and the Foundation to host an annual tea in Tyler Hall to raise funds for the scholarship. Since that time, the “Salute to Mothers” Scholarship has raised over $95,000 for this award.
The 8th Annual Bucks Community Awards & Breakfast, supported by Presenting Sponsor Comcast and Awards Sponsor Horizon Services, featured comments from Bucks President Stephanie Shanblatt, BCCC Foundation Board President Frederick Schea, and Brian Jeter, Sr., Director of Government Affairs at Comcast. Also attending was Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia. Executives and members of the Bucks County business community in attendance also heard from student Matt Kelly, president of the Student Government Association, who shared his inspiring story about how attending Bucks changed his life.
