$25,000 Raised for Silas Craft Collegians Program

Hundreds of community members, elected officials and Howard Community College faculty and staff turned out to Columbia’s Hunan Manor Restaurant on Monday evening to support the college’s Silas Craft Collegians program.

The event sold nearly 400 tickets and is expected to raise more than $25,000. All proceeds from the evening will benefit student scholarships and the Silas Craft Collegians program, which offers students personalized attention and mentoring in a supportive academic cohort that promotes scholastic achievement, graduation, and transfer to four-year colleges and universities. The event has raised close to $350,000 since its start 17 years ago.

U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings delivered motivational remarks to the Collegians, their families, and event attendees. He explained that attending the event helped students reach their potential.

“Our children are the living messages to the future we will never see,” he said.

He encouraged attendees to invest in our children, help them dream and “get that education.”

Also in attendance was Dorothye Craft, the widow of Silas Craft, an educational pioneer in Howard County who opened the first senior high school for African American students.

Mrs. Craft, 93, said her husband believed that everyone can make a difference. She urged parents and adults to take a young person under their wing and tell them there’s a great future in a community college education.

“Education is the ticket to a successful and purposeful life,” she said.