DREXEL HILL, PA — Delaware County Community College launched a fundraising campaign to equip its new Southeast Center with training technology and career tools, linking private donations to workforce programs serving growing industries across Delaware and Chester counties.
The Tools for Tomorrow campaign will support equipment, technology and educational spaces for programs in culinary arts and hospitality, health care, biotechnology, early childhood education and the skilled trades.
The initiative centers on the Southeast Center, developed inside the former Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill, and the adjoining Kelleher Annex for Workforce Development.
DCCC is seeking contributions from individuals, businesses and foundations through its Educational Foundation. The campaign is intended to reduce equipment barriers for students while preparing workers for occupations requiring hands-on technical training.
Visit Delco, Delaware County’s tourism promotion agency, has already funded professional kits for culinary arts students at the center. Each kit includes an embroidered uniform, chef’s knives, whisks, spatulas and other cooking tools.
The culinary program operates teaching kitchens, a restaurant-style workspace and a theater-style demonstration classroom. Students also use commercial equipment and maintain hydroponic plants that supply greens and herbs for classes.
For Skyler Bailey, a single mother of four who works as a behavioral health therapist, the center provided a route into culinary education after she moved from Florida to Delaware County.
“It was like being on one of those shows, like MasterChef,” Bailey said of entering the culinary facilities.
Bailey is pursuing an associate degree while planning to open a gluten-free bakery. She identified the chef’s kit supplied when she enrolled as one of the resources supporting her training.
Mia Moss transferred to DCCC from a four-year university after reconsidering the cost and timing of her education. She is now studying culinary arts and working with the program’s hydroponic system.
The campaign also supports health care laboratories designed to reproduce the equipment and working conditions graduates may encounter in hospitals and other clinical settings.
Skilled-trades instruction is housed in the Kelleher Annex, where specialized laboratories support workforce training. Assistance can extend beyond the classroom to equipment students need when entering a trade.
Russell McLarnon, a graduate of DCCC’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning program, received work boots and a tool set at graduation through the Kelleher Connect Career Opportunity Fund.
The fund is designed to reduce the upfront costs graduates face when beginning careers that require workers to supply their own equipment. McLarnon also used the college’s laptop-lending program and received assistance with SEPTA transportation while enrolled.
“It’s not like you graduate from DCCC and you’re on your own,” McLarnon said. “They literally give you the tools to succeed.”
Many students at the Southeast Center are first-generation college students or working adults balancing classes with jobs and family responsibilities. DCCC said access to current equipment and purpose-built laboratories is intended to help students complete credentials and enter the workforce prepared to use industry-standard tools.
The college serves approximately 20,000 credit and noncredit students annually across Delaware and Chester counties.
Information about the Tools for Tomorrow campaign is available at dccc.edu/campaign. Prospective donors may also contact advance@dccc.edu or 610-359-5131.
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