VisionGreenwood Donates $15K to PTC's MODELS Academy

Business leaders representing VisionGreenwood visited Piedmont Technical College’s Lex Walters Campus-Greenwood on Jan. 23, 2024, to present a donation of $15,000 to the college’s special initiative, MODELS Academy. MODELS is a holistic mentoring and personal development program for African American males in grades 4-12. 

MODELS Director Steve Coleman said the donation will help support gap scholarships for MODELS students who reside in Greenwood. 

“When I watch the young men who have completed our program, dressed in tuxes and speaking confidently from a podium, I know it is because of benefactors like VisionGreenwood that they have accomplished so much,” Coleman said. “MODELS Academy could not reach as many individuals as it has, more than 500 now, to show them the many opportunities they can have if they stay focused. These young men learn that they have access to education and prosperity if they do the right things and put in the work. They show me every day how successful they can be.” 

“VisionGreenwood is grateful to play a small supporting role in the professional development work that Steve Coleman, Courtney Smith, and MODELS Academy does for Greenwood,” VisionGreenwood Board Chair Brandon Smith said.

For more information about MODELS Academy, visit www.ptc.edu/models.

PHOTO:  Pictured from left: PTC Foundation Associate Vice President Fran Wiley, VisionGreenwood Executive Director Kay Self, PTC Instructor and MODELS Mentor Courtney Smith, MODELS Academy Director Steve Coleman, Greenwood Mayor and VisionGreenwood Board Chair Brandon Smith, PTC Vice President for Student Affairs Josh Black, and VisionGreenwood Board Member Frank Wideman.