The New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corporation and the Redevelopment Commission have renewed their donation funding for the New Castle Career Center. The Career Center will receive $30,000 annually for 2021, 2022, and 2023. The funds are designated for Career Center equipment.

For the 2020 school year, the funds were used to benefit several career programs. 

The Culinary Program received a commercial microwave, a large commercial mixer, and a silicone spoon mixer. These items will assist greatly with large projects like the cheeseball fundraiser and to practice other skills.

The Health Careers Program purchased equipment to help students training for EMR, CNA, and CPR license. They received pediatric pads for AED, a stiff-necked collar, an AED trainer, a casualty simulation kit, an EMT backboard, and a DVD player for training videos. 

The Cosmetology Program received replacement hairdryers for those that were broken. The hairdryers are required by state law in order to train students for their cosmetology licenses.

The Dental Program received a large number of items, due to not having new equipment purchased in over five years. The program received three digital x-ray sensors, four x-ray chair mannequins, and a sterilization machine for students to clean and sterilize instruments. 

“The Career Center is so fortunate to have the New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corporation and the Redevelopment Commission grant to purchase equipment that would not be available without their generous support,” said Mackenzie Jackson, Director of the New Castle Career Center. “The students benefit from the purchases every day and the instructors are able to use the additional tools to teach required skills in the classroom and labs.”

The New Castle Career Center is always looking to expand community partnerships and offers 18 programs that students can take advantage of during their junior/senior year of high school. For more information, visit nccareercenter.org.

The Henry County REMC and CoBank have come together once again to present a grant to the New Castle Career Center. By utilizing a matching opportunity within CoBank’s Sharing Success program, they were able to donate a total of $10,000 with each company donating $5,000. REMC and CoBank sought to assist the Career Center in buying equipment students might need.

“We want to support all of the schools in the county and community,” explained Shannon Thom, Chief Executive Officer of REMC. “The Career Center does exactly that! Skilled trades are the backbone of every job we have here, and we want to help the kids that are doing those jobs.”

This donation will be placed in the Career Center’s Student Assistance Fund. The fund is designed to aid students who need help paying for class fees, safety equipment, and certification costs. 

“We don’t want cost to prevent students from participating in our programs,” noted Mackenzie Jackson, Director of the New Castle Career Center. “This donation is amazing because it allows flexibility in spending- we can help many students in several different programs.”

With this generous grant from the Henry County REMC and CoBank, the New Castle Career Center can continue to build the assistance fund, ensuring that no student will miss out on participating in a career program due to lack of funding.Students can begin looking into career programs and filling out applications in December. For information on the New Castle, Career Center visit nccareercenter.org.