Nursing Students Receive Support
September 23, 2021 // South Dakota Fund Grants
“Our goal of inclusivity for others does not stop with those we serve but also includes our students”
Dr. Sandra Sexton Welling, PhD, RN, CCM, Interim Chief Academic Advisor, Academic Dean/Professor, Presentation College
Presentation College is a four-year, private Catholic College located in Aberdeen and sponsored by the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Founded in 1951, its focus is on both undergraduate and master’s instructional programs. Preparing nurses to service rural and frontier areas is the priority of their online Nursing Programs (LPN to BSN and RN to BSN).
The South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF) provided a $10,000 South Dakota Fund grant to Presentation College. This grant will support 30 students a semester through June 2022. To ensure all students have experience in rural health, students are required to participate in clinicals in Aberdeen at one of the local healthcare facilities or in the Presentation College student clinical. These experiences necessitate travel and can cause a financial burden. Students travel from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. During the pandemic, students were unable to use housing in the dorms resulting in bills for lodging. These dollars provide a resource for students to access affordable, safe housing.
“Our goal of inclusivity for others does not stop with those we serve but also includes our students”, declared Dr. Sandra Sexton Welling, PhD, RN, CCM, Interim Chief Academic Advisor, Academic Dean/Professor, Presentation College. “Receiving these monies from the South Dakota Community Foundation will allow Presentation College to offset a small portion of the financial burden of deserving nursing students so they can focus their attention on their education and upon graduation, live out their called career potential to serve the health and wellness needs of rural and frontier populations. We are grateful to the South Dakota Community Foundation and all donors who philanthropically support our mission to “welcome people of all faiths by challenging learners toward academic excellence and in the Catholic tradition, the development of the whole person.”
“While many have faced a worker shortage during the pandemic, nurses are in critical demand”, said Ginger Niemann, Senior Program Officer, SDCF. “Healthcare and frontline workers are essential, especially in our state’s rural and frontier areas. We are proud to play a small part in supporting our state’s healthcare systems.”
To learn more about funding opportunities offered by the SDCF, please visit our website at https://www.sdcommunityfoundation.org/
About the SDCF
SDCF is a public non-profit organization established in 1987. SDCF, with offices in Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Aberdeen administers over 1050 funds benefiting hundreds of charitable organizations annually. The Foundation distributed nearly $18 million in grants in 2020 which made a tremendous difference in communities statewide. This would not have been possible without the generosity of our donors. If you have a specific cause you would like to support or would prefer to give for the general good of our state, please visit https://sdcommunityfoundation.org/giving to learn more or call 1-800-888-1842.