Rebekah Whitton: “Rebekah Whitton begins work on snowmen ornaments to be finished later by DJJ students.” MTC CARES, a college– wide collaboration at Midlands Technical College that engages students, faculty, and staff in community service and service learning, is raising funds to send a high school student to the Midlands Middle College. This student seemed to be an excellent fit for the Middle College, but due to budget cutbacks, her school district could not afford the tuition.

When this came to the attention of organizers of MTC CARES, they started raising funds for a scholarship for the student. One of the fundraisers is selling handcrafted holiday ornaments but with a unique twist.

The SC Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) “Community Behind the Fence” program had been looking for service projects their young people could do within their facility. Helping to make the ornaments seemed like a good project for them.

In early November, MTC faculty, staff, and students prepared the materials for these ornaments so that the DJJ students could finish them later. On November 18, faculty, staff, and students from MTC joined 21 young men and their mentors at DJJ to finish decorating the ornaments.

“The event was very successful,” said Dr. Diane Carr, MTC associate vice president for arts and sciences. “Not only did these students produce beautiful original works of art, but they got the opportunity to be creative, share their goals and dreams with MTC personnel, and to receive information about MTC’s programs. It was an evening that combined fun, establishing new partnerships, and sharing information.”

The finished ornaments are being sold by MTC CARES on the MTC campuses and other locations throughout November and December. All proceeds from the ornaments will be put into a scholarship fund to benefit the potential Middle College student.

“It was remarkable to see a roomful of young men pay so much attention to the intricacies of making these ornaments,” Carr added. “They were willing to work, they were creative, and they took their work seriously. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them in action and talking with them about their hopes for the future as we worked.”

Midlands Middle College, located on the Airport Campus of Midlands Technical College, provides high school juniors and seniors from Richland, Lexington, and Fairfield counties a fresh academic start in a high school educational program.

Midlands Technical College is a comprehensive, multi-campus, public, twoyear college serving the primary region of Richland, Lexington and Fairfield counties of South Carolina. The college enrolls approximately 18,000 credit students annually, and provides continuing education to 30,000 individuals and hundreds of area businesses each year. MTC is the largest provider of transfer students to the University of South Carolina.