FLORENCE, SC – The Darla Moore Foundation today announced a $5 million gift to the Florence-Darlington Technical College (FDTC) Educational Foundation at a ceremony held at the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (SiMT), Thursday, May 26, 2016. Tech leaders say this award is thought to be the largest gift of its kind ever to a South Carolina technical college.
“It is with much gratitude that I would like to thank the Darla Moore Foundation for this unprecedented and generous gift to one of South Carolina’s technical colleges,” said FDTC President Dr. Ben P. Dillard.
“We believe that this gift will significantly enhance the opportunities and services offered to students in the Lake City area of Florence County,” said Darla Moore of the Darla Moore Foundation Board of Trustees.
“We are excited about the possibilities that this gift affords us for moving FDTC forward in Lake City,” said Jill Lewis, FDTC’s Vice President for Institutional Advancement.
The primary focus of this $5 million gift will be the creation of a culinary and hospitality program at FDTC’s Lake City site. In addition, a portion of the money will be used to provide emergency grants, loans, and academic scholarships to students at FDTC’s Lake City campus.
Another goal of the gift is to enhance the dual credit/dual enrollment program (known as FDTC’s Early College Program) within Florence (Public) School District 3. Finally, the gift is intended to assist FDTC in its economic development activities in the Lake City area and in its efforts to secure employment for graduates of FDTC’s Lake City site.
