SOUTH HOLLAND, IL –South Suburban College and the SSC Foundation will host a special National Day of Giving event – Rocky Clark Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser – on Tuesday, December 3, 2019. The free event will begin with breakfast from 9 – 10 a.m. and memorial presentation to follow from 10 – 11 a.m. in SSC’s Kindig Performing Arts Center. The fundraiser is sponsored by college Chairman Frank M. Zuccarelli, Thornton Township, and Illinois State Senator Napoleon Harris. Individuals may donate online or at the event, with the SSC Foundation matching all gifts.

Established in 2012, the Rocky Clark Memorial Fund provides scholarship opportunities to students with challenges at SSC. The fund was created following the passing of former student Rocky Clark on January 5, 2012. Rocky had been paralyzed from the neck down after a spinal cord injury in 2000. His injury was a result of a tackle which occurred during a football game at Eisenhower High School against Oak Forest. He spent the next eleven years nearly prone in a wheel chair. Rocky Clark began as a freshman at SSC in the spring of 2004 and last attended in the spring of 2007. He was an inspiration to all he came in contact with and was the first recipient of the Walter Payton Scholarship.

All are welcome to attend the full breakfast and memorial event at no charge. RSVP to foundation@ssc.edu and donations are now accepted online from ssc.edu/foundation and in-person at the event. The college is located at 15800 S. State Street in South Holland, IL.

This event is part of the SSC Foundation’s Annual Scholarship Fund Drive for those who wish to make a difference in the lives of local college students in need of financial assistance. The drive provides both a charitable gift opportunity and tax-deduction (EIN: 23- 7191738) for all donors. The Foundation Office works cooperatively with individuals and organizations to develop a donor plan of any level. New scholarships can also be established with a $1,000 donation.

At SSC, 90% of students fall under the low income, first generation or disabled criteria. The SSC Foundation awarded over $140,000 to students in 2019, and has now granted over $2.2 million since 1987.