Giving Back to Move Students Forward
Dee Johnson
As an instructor in the graphic design program for nearly four decades, Dee Johnson saw firsthand the importance of the robust, generous scholarship program funded by private gifts and administered by the DMACC Foundation.
“I’ve known so many students who couldn’t get by without it,” Dee says. “I have seen for myself the financial burdens so many DMACC students face, even with tuition being so much more affordable compared to four-year schools. It hits you personally when you are in the classroom and you see a student struggling for even the smallest things, like having lunch or scraping together gas money.”
An active member of the DMACC Pioneers—a group of retired DMACC employees who provide financial and volunteer support to the College—since her retirement, Dee recently made the decision to make a planned gift to the DMACC Foundation. The gift has enabled her to support students, while honoring the Pioneers.
“In serving on the Leadership Committee of the Pioneers, I was very involved in a number of the fundraisers,” Dee says. “I am so committed to DMACC and the Pioneers that those fundraisers made me want to give and do good because others had worked so hard.”
Dee has established a trust from the sale of a vacation property that will be donated to the DMACC Pioneers Scholarship upon her passing. She says it is humbling to know she will leave a legacy.
“This has allowed me to support the Pioneers and support the students,” Dee says. “I have firsthand knowledge of the struggles many students face. This is my way of continuing to provide them a hand up.”
“It is impossible to quantify the value of our DMACC Pioneers,” says Tara Connolly, Executive Director of the DMACC Foundation. “It is amazing to see individuals who gave so much as employees continue to give in retirement. Her gift will impact the lives of so many DMACC students in such a positive way.”
To learn more about leaving a legacy by making a gift to the DMACC Foundation, contact the DMACC Foundation at 515-964-6229 or foundation@dmacc.edu.