Virginia Western Community College and Advance Auto Parts announced a major partnership today to provide funding for the Community College Access Program (CCAP). The Roanoke-headquartered company has committed to providing $125,000 this year as part of an ongoing partnership to help make college possible for local high school graduates.

Advance Auto Parts President and Chief Executive Officer Darren R. Jackson joined Virginia Western President Robert H. Sandel in making the announcement in front of an audience of students, faculty, staff, business and community leaders on the college’s campus.

“Advance Auto Parts is proud to support Virginia Western Community College and CCAP. We believe everyone has the right to pursue a higher education, despite their financial situation, and we are committed to bringing these opportunities to our community. Together with our community partners, we will make college possible for local students,” said Jackson. “Through this partnership with Virginia Western Community College, we truly see how we are bringing our Promise – Service is our Best Part - to life. We believe that by supporting the communities in which we operate, we all win.”

Launched in 2008, CCAP is a series of both public and private partnerships with the objective of making college available tuition-free to area high school graduates. Administered by the Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation, the needs-based program covers the cost of tuition for two years at Virginia Western for students who meet program guidelines. CCAP is currently available to graduating high school students in the Roanoke City, Salem City and Franklin County school systems and served more than 160 students in the 2011-12 academic year and more than 500 applications were received for 2012-13.

The Educational Foundation is seeking additional partners and funds to launch the program in the Botetourt, Craig and Roanoke County school systems.  A $7 million College Access Campaign is currently underway, striving to fund CCAP throughout the region.

“Virginia Western wishes to thank Advance Auto Parts for its dedication to our region and the foresight to help make this new education model a reality,” Sandel said. “By investing in CCAP, Advance Auto Parts is investing in the next generation of local business leaders. Financial shortcomings will not prevent students from acquiring the higher education they need to be competitive in this changing economy.  The Virginia Community College System and Virginia Western recognize the significance of this investment.”

On Tuesday, Jackson joined Sandel in Richmond to accept the 2012 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy from the Virginia Community College System. Chancellor Glenn DuBois announced the statewide recognition, which has honored the leading philanthropists from each of Virginia’s 23 community colleges for the past seven years. Advance Auto Parts will have a scholarship named in its honor that will be awarded next fall to a student attending Virginia Western.

Virginia Western Community College is also excited to announce that, during the entire month of May, partners Advance Auto Parts, Kroger, Stop-In Food Stores, Valley Character and WDBJ7 will join the school in raising funds and awareness region-wide for CCAP. Customers of each of these partner businesses around the Roanoke Valley will have the opportunity to purchase either a $1 or $5 diploma, or make a donation in any amount to contribute to CCAP. All funds raised will go directly to assisting students from the Roanoke City, Salem and Franklin County school systems attend Virginia Western.

“The addition of Advance Auto Parts and WDBJ7 to the outstanding partners we have in Kroger, Stop-In Food Stores and Valley Character will make the second annual CCAP Month a great success,” said Ed Hall, President of the Virginia Western Educational Foundation Board of Directors. “These businesses have been devoted to making higher education attainable to all our citizens, but we also need the support of community members to ensure bright futures for our children, grandchildren, neighbors and friends.”

The Roanoke Prevention Planning Team, a collaborative partner of Roanoke Area Youth Substance Abuse Coalition (RAYSAC), has been awarded a grant by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to reduce the rate of motor vehicle crashes involving a driver under the influence of alcohol between the ages of 15-24 in Roanoke.

The coalition will also assess the consumption patterns of young-adult binge drinking between 18-24 as well as the general underage drinking behaviors that lead to motor vehicle crashes. Funding for the grant comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP).

“Our community pays the price in damage to property, strain on resources and legal costs, but most tragically, we pay the price in physical injury and loss of life when anyone chooses to drink and drive,” said Ray Bemis, coordinator of the Roanoke Prevention Planning Team. “RAYSAC and the Roanoke Prevention Alliance, with the help of all our partners, will strive to affect change to reduce these tragedies for all the citizens of Roanoke.”

Partners in the Roanoke Prevention Planning Team include Roanoke City, Roanoke City Police Department, Carilion Clinic, Virginia Western Community College, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), U.S. Attorney’s Office, Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare and Jefferson College of Health Sciences. There are also many other partner organizations with law enforcement, healthcare, education and church-based focuses.

The first phase of the grant will implement the Strategic Prevention Framework, a five-step process designed to identify key substance-related consequences and causes, prioritize the findings and implement appropriate prevention strategies to reduce the level of alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes in Roanoke.

The mission of the Roanoke Prevention Planning Team is to strive to promote community awareness about risky behaviors and attitudes among youth; to implement a unified comprehensive approach for prevention planning; to identify strategies to increase resources available to prevent substance abuse, violence, teen pregnancy and school failure and to encourage family and community involvement.