SANFORD - Central Carolina Community College has been awarded a $10,000 grant to establish a financial wellness program for its workforce.

Funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation, this one-year grant comes at a time when many of the nearly 19 million state and local government employees across the U.S. continue to serve on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many governments are also confronting unprecedented budget shortfalls, and workers are increasingly concerned about family finances.

This grant is structured as a collaboration between the Center For State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE), the International Public Management Association For Human Resources (IPMA-HR), the National Association of State Treasurers' Foundation (NASTF) and Wells Fargo. A total of 24 state and local government jurisdictions were awarded grants.

In a recent national poll conducted by SLGE, 56 percent of state and local public employees reported that their family has been negatively impacted financially by the crisis, and more than half are worried about their family finances, losing their job, furloughs, and pay and benefit reductions.

Trinity Faucett, CCCC Director of Human Resources, said, "We want our employees to be empowered and motivated to take control of their financial lives. They in turn can share their knowledge with students and community members."

"Based on previous SLGE research, we know that only 29 percent of state and local government employers offer financial literacy programs to their workforce, while 68 percent of public employees would participate in these programs if they were offered one. This grant program offers a real opportunity for state and localities like Central Carolina Community College to launch financial wellness programs for workers who deliver important public services," said Joshua Franzel, SLGE president and chief executive officer.

"Far too many public sector employees lack access to the financial wellness programs they want and need," said Shaun Snyder, NAST and the NAST Foundation executive director. "NAST is proud to continue its commitment to financial education through this collaboration with Central Carolina Community College, which will strengthen financial wellness opportunities for public employees."

"IPMA-HR is honored to be part of this initiative, and we look forward to seeing results from Central Carolina Community College's planned program. We know that state and local employees with financial security are more engaged and better positioned to serve the public, making this initiative all the more vital during these unprecedented times," said Cara Woodson Welch, IPMA-HR executive director.

To learn more about this program, contact Trinity Faucett, CCCC Director of Human Resources, at tfaucett@cccc.edu.

To learn more about Central Carolina Community College, visit www.cccc.edu.