Drive to Change Lives
Annual Drive to Change Lives fundraising campaign seeks 500 donors
Auto dealer Gary Rome is again partnering with the HCC Foundation for a one-day campaign to raise money for student support programs and academic resources at Holyoke Community College.
The sixth annual "Together HCC: Drive to Change Lives" campaign is set for Wednesday, March 4, and will run for 24 hours from 12:01 a.m. to midnight. With a goal of 500 donors, this year’s success would put the campaign’s six-year cumulative support total over $1 million.
"What makes this campaign special is seeing all our community members come together in a single day to tell our students, ‘We see you, we believe in you, and we're invested in your success,’” said Julie Phillips, HCC executive director of development.
Donations can be made through a secure portal on the HCC website: hcc.edu/drive
The campaign supports six critical areas that directly support HCC students: academic excellence and innovation; scholarships; the Thrive Center and Food Pantry; the President's Student Emergency Fund; the President’s Fund for Opportunity; and the HCC Foundation's general fund.
The campaign has already received pledges for challenges and matching funds in excess of $125,000.
Rome, who is a member of the HCC Foundation’s Board of Directors, has pledged an additional $50 for every first-time donor. To help promote the event, Rome will be visiting the “Together HCC” celebration on campaign day from 11 a.m. – noon on the second floor of the HCC Campus Center.
“My father always said that no one can ever take away what you put between your ears,” said Rome. “That lesson has stayed with me my whole life, and it's exactly why community college matters so much to me. HCC gives people the chance to build something no one can take away – education – and that's worth showing up for, year after year.”
Additionally, longtime supporters Peg Wendlandt '58 and Gary Wendlandt will provide $100,000 in challenge gifts throughout the day. Alumni Myke Connolly '04, founder of the Launch and Stand Out marketing agency, and Dylan Pilon '12, founder of Cloud 9 Marketing Group, have pledged $10 each for every alum who makes a gift.
The HCC Foundation launched “Together HCC: A Campaign for Caring” in March 2020 to build community support and raise money for students experiencing financial distress during the pandemic. As part of that campaign, members of the HCC community — students, staff, faculty, alumni, relatives, and college friends — were asked to use the hashtag #TogetherHCC to share stories and images on social media that demonstrated the resilience of the college community in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
In its first year, the campaign raised $40,000 for the President’s Student Emergency Fund and was selected as a finalist for a national Bellwether award. In 2021, with Rome signed on, HCC added the “Drive to Change Lives” theme and has so far raised more than $900,000 for student support programs over the past five years.
“Our students are driven, and they are just getting started,” said Phillips. “A gift to ‘Together HCC’ will help make sure nothing gets in their way.”
PHOTO: Holyoke auto dealer Gary Rome, center, visits HCC on campaign day in March 2025.
