Around the College

HACC Cares about Student Success

HACC launched the Consultation, Advocacy, Referrals and Empowerment (CARE) Center to further its commitment to helping students overcome non-academic challenges that can threaten their educational success.

The CARE Center functions as a single stop to address the needs of students facing barriers such as child care, food and housing insecurities, mental health, transportation and more. Dedicated staff in the CARE Center connect students to resources and services available at the College or within the community, making it easier for students to focus on their college education.

Please visit hacc.edu/CAREcenter for more information.

Meet Sophia: Medical Assisting Student

What makes HACC unique? The answer might be different for everyone you ask. Sophia, a current HACC student, said that “the diversity of people [at HACC] is really cool.” She added, “You get to meet so many different people and it’s really awesome how you all just unite as a community.” You can hear more about Sophia’s story in this video.

Music Business (MUSB) Student, Dan Snyder

HACC Music Business (MUSB) student Dan Snyder recently ran the audio and video stream for Bernadette Bratina's Junior Recital for Penn State's Main Campus. COVID-19 caused her recital to be postponed in April. The Bratina Family was given the responsibility to find a venue, piano accompanist and the technical crew to stream the event over the internet.

Brenda Bratina, Bernadette's mother, is a student in Adjunct Professor Joe Trojcak's MUSB 111 class and asked his advice regarding the set up and crew for the stream. Dan Snyder and Zack Chavey were interns at Joe Trojcak's Progressive Enterprises Sound Studio this summer and streamed Joe's Patriotic Piano concert on July the 3rd. "I had full confidence that Dan Snyder could handle this challenge."

Dan was assisted by Lebanon Valley College intern Chase Bartholomew who is a senior at LVC and completing his Fall internship at Progressive Studios. The final results were outstanding and worthy to be broadcast on National Public Radio and Television!

How will HACC handle weather announcements during COVID-19?

If there is a weather announcement regarding campus closures, it will only affect employees and students approved to be on campus. All other remote work, remote instruction and virtual learning courses will continue as scheduled.

We will communicate directly to students and employees approved to be on a HACC campus. Therefore, we will not be distributing a collegewide e2Campus message. In addition, we will not notify the local media.

Instead, we will:

Update the hacc.edu website
Send an email to employees who are approved to be on campus
Send an email to students who are approved to be on campus
Post an announcement to the collegewide Facebook and Twitter accounts

Please see the “Weather Announcement Process During COVID-19” tab on hacc.edu/Weather for more information. Also, please remember to continue wearing your mask, washing your hands and staying safe and healthy. You are important!

Classified Employee Organization Diversity & Inclusion Statement

The elected employees of the Classified Employee Council (CEC) created a Diversity and Inclusion statement with assistance from Dr. Armenta Hinton in the Office of Inclusion and Diversity. This statement represents the Classified Employee Organization’s commitment to the College and to our students.

Classified Employee Organization Diversity & Inclusion Statement

We value the visible and invisible qualities that make us who we are as individuals. Our colleagues come from different cultures and backgrounds, have various life experiences, unique knowledge, and acquire distinctive self-expression that adds to the betterment of our constituency.

Our Classified Employee Council will advocate for equality among ALL classified constituents as well as parity among other constituencies. We are committed to inspiring and instilling an inclusive and diverse environment among our constituency group, eliminating any negative biases towards anyone who may be unlike ourselves.

We insist that our employees embody HACC’s Core Values - Excellence, Innovation, Inclusivity, and Integrity. If you do not embrace these values, you should consider employment elsewhere.
We will not tolerate, nor support, any unjust behavior at HACC and will report said behavior to the Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity for investigation.
We expect that all Classified Employees expand their knowledge of diversity and inclusion by way of college-sponsored professional development.
We will work with the Office of Human Resources and Organizational Development and the Office of Inclusion and Diversity to coordinate training opportunities.
We hold the College accountable for providing the funding and scheduling flexibility to attend quality training opportunities, specifically geared toward the Classified Employee Organization.
We commit to providing outstanding customer service and ensuring success for all students at HACC by acknowledging the diverse needs of those we serve.

Finally, we are not all the same; we are different, together.

The Holiday Season Sees Thanks and Year-End Charitable Giving

By Mark Vergenes

With the holiday season upon us and the end of the year approaching, we pause to give thanks for our blessings and to the people in our lives. It is also a time when charitable giving often comes to mind. The tax benefits associated with charitable giving could potentially enhance your ability to give and should be considered as part of your year-end tax planning.

A word of caution

Be sure to deal with recognized charities and be wary of charities with similar sounding names. It is common for scam artists to impersonate charities using bogus websites and through contact involving e-mails, telephone, social media and in-person solicitations. Research the charity on the IRS website, www.irs.gov, using the Exempt Organizations Select Check search tool. Do not give or send cash; contribute by check or credit card.

Tax deduction for charitable gifts

If you itemize deductions on your income tax return, you can generally deduct your gifts to qualified charities. However, the amount of your deduction may be limited to certain percentages of your adjusted gross income (AGI). For example, your deduction for gifts of cash to public charities is generally limited to 50% of your AGI for the year, and other gifts to charity may be limited to 30% or 20% of your AGI. Charitable deductions that exceed the AGI limits may generally be carried over and deducted over the next five years subject to the income percentage limits in those years. Your overall itemized deductions may also be limited based on the amount of your AGI. Please make sure to retain proper substantiation of your deduction for a charitable contribution.

Year-end tax planning

When considering making charitable gifts at the end of a year, it is generally useful to include them as part of your year-end tax planning. In general, you have a certain amount of control over the timing of income and expenses. You generally want to time your recognition of income so that it will be taxed at the lowest rate possible, and time your deductible expenses so they can be claimed in years when you are in a higher tax bracket.

For example, if you expect that you will be in a higher tax bracket next year, it may make sense to wait to make the charitable contribution in January so that you can take the deduction next year when the deduction results in a greater tax benefit. You may want to push the charitable contribution, along with other deductions, into a year when your itemized deductions would be greater than the standard deduction amount. If the income percentage limits are a concern in one year, you might consider ways to move income into that year or move deductions out of that year so that a larger charitable deduction is available for that year. A tax professional can help you evaluate your individual tax situation.

Mark A. Vergenes is president of MIRUS Financial Partners, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Mark is also a member of the HACC Foundation Planned Giving Committee.

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