Over the past decade, state institutions such as A-B Tech have had to shrink their operating budgets. Needing to find new and innovative ways of accomplishing its missions in this era of tighter budgets, the College reached out to the local community to see what resources were available to bridge the budget gaps. The resulting outreach saw the creation of the A-B Tech Volunteer Program, one of just a few volunteer programs at a community college in the country.

 

Today, Volunteers at A-B Tech are providing a variety of support to faculty and staff such as administrative support, assistance with special events, and tutoring (for both curriculum and transitional studies students). The program even matches highly-skilled "Executive Volunteers" with faculty and staff to share their career expertise in supporting program development. In addition, value-added programs have been made possible through the support of Volunteers; these include the Veterans' Café, Dog Therapy, and Mentoring Programs.

 

Ms. Pam Silvers

Staff and faculty have been grateful for the support, new perspectives, and experience that our A-B Tech Volunteers bring to the College. Pam Silvers, Instructor of Computer Technologies and Principal Investigator to the NSF-ATE Grant, utilizes Volunteers in numerous ways to ensure the success of her programming. "The Volunteers have been invaluable to the success of our programs. When I was Department Chair, Volunteers helped proof documents, organize files and folders, and perform many other tasks. Recently, Volunteer Nadia Arbelo, one of the Volunteer Programs' "Executive Volunteers", chaired two focus groups for our A-B Tech Women in Technology group, which allowed us to provide focus for the upcoming year," said Silvers.

 

Looking to the future, the Volunteer Program will continue to support student success and provide assistance to staff and faculty in strengthening programing and stretching limited funding. The Volunteer Program is proud to provide innovative solutions to make it possible for A-B Tech to bridge gaps, accomplish its mission, and look confidently to the future.  The College's Volunteer Program is supported by the fund-raising efforts of the Board of Directors of the A-B Tech Foundation; please consider a charitable contribution to this important initiative.

Laura Pennington will be leaving A-B Tech at the end of June after nearly four years with the College.  She has served as the College Advancement Department's Resource Development Director, focusing on helping the College and Foundation acquire grants, contracts and special funds.  During her tenure, more than $13 million has been successfully awarded to support the work of the College.  Laura and her family will be moving to Abingdon, Virginia where she will join the Institutional Advancement staff at Virginia Highlands Community College.  When asked about what projects she is most proud of at A-B Tech, Laura shared that she "really enjoyed projects like the Craft Beverage Institute, workforce development, the Lavender Fund, Basic Skills, and the National Science Foundation."  Laura says that she "will miss A-B Tech and will keep tabs on the College from afar...many great things lie ahead and I am grateful for getting to play a small part in building for the future."