Wooster High Class of 1965 donates $10,000 to support adult students at career center

Wayne County Schools Career Center adult education students are the direct recipients of a donation recently made by the Wooster High School Class of 1965. The donation, totaling $10,000, was presented to Sandy Elliott, adult education supervisor, by two alumni of the class: Bryan “Buzz” Grosjean and Ed Schaaf.

The Wooster Class of 1965 has members from all over the U.S. who have met every five years since graduating and who began collecting the donations with registrations for this year’s weekend-long reunion. Money left from registration fees and past reunions also contributed to the donation amount.

It all began with Schaaf seeing a piece of literature about the career center’s adult education classes and realizing many of the students continue working while attending classes, trying to better their current career or make a career change. He then reached out to Elliott for more information on the school and the need for this type of donation. With Elliott’s help, he compiled a presentation.

“It was spiritually led,” Schaaf said of his decision to reach out to Elliott for more information. “The information (Elliott) gave perpetuated the situation in a very positive way.”

The class’ donation committee reviewed Schaaf’s proposal for allocating the donation funds and agreed the career center was the best destination for the donation.

“This money will go into a fund that allows us to fill funding gaps for our students,” Elliott said. “It will help multiple students cover tuition, supplies, and program requirements like paying for background checks or even final exam costs.”

Elliott will track the donations and report back to the class so they will know how many people their efforts benefit.

Several staff members were on hand to witness the donation being delivered in person. They gave several examples of ways funds like this have been used in the past including students who have transportation issues or those who may need assistance with purchasing scrubs.

“I don’t think we fully realized the need that this will help with,” Schaaf said. “We feel blessed to do this, and when we hear the stories down the road, that will be a real blessing to the class too.”

Visit www.wcscc.edu for more information about adult education opportunities at the Wayne County Schools Career Center.