While it remains blisteringly hot out, this past week we got the first sign that summer is winding down: the first full week of school for students across Lee County. At public, private, and charter schools, kids are getting back into their normal routines. The same goes for students at Central Carolina Community College, who come back to campus ready to continue their higher education pursuits.
At SAGA, our mission is rooted in economic growth and prosperity, so we spend much of our time serving local businesses and nonprofit organizations. But our educational institutions are just as important for our community’s success. Yes, their core priority is to grow our children into the next generation of skilled workers and engaged citizens in Lee County, or in the case of CCCC, to help adults further their education and unlock new career opportunities. But their impact extends much further. Strong educational institutions make a community a more desirable place to live, raise a family, and start a business. When entrepreneurs imagine a new venture, they want to know that they’ll be able to find good employees. When companies consider moving here, they want to know that they’ll have a place to train their workers, and that those workers’ children will have good schools. Without strong educational institutions, the path to prosperity for a community becomes a much, much steeper climb.
That’s why we’re always looking for new ways to mobilize our business community to support our schools, teachers, and students. And we’re lucky: our local businesses and industries are always eager to engage. Whether it’s helping put together gift bags for new teachers in Lee County, sponsoring prizes for Principal, Assistant Principal, and Teacher of the Year at Convocation, helping to provide a fun time for students at last Thursday’s Back to School Bash, or donating to help build new facilities like the Biotech Building at CCCC, we know we can always find ready partners when our schools need support.
How can you support local education as the new school year gets into full swing? Donations of school supplies and sponsoring events are two easy ways, but also consider what your business or organization can bring to the table that’s unique and different. Do you have the capacity to start a new internship program in partnership with the schools? Do you have a facility that might be a good destination for a field trip? Do your employers have a special or interesting skill that might spark an interest in a young student? There are myriad ways to make our schools more engaging and better connected to our employers, and I encourage you to take some time to think about how you might make a difference for tomorrow’s workers and leaders.