Wallace State donates Easter lilies to Hanceville Nursing and Rehab

HANCEVILLE, Ala. — A caring campus, that is part of the premise behind a delivery of nearly 240 Easter lily plants to residents and staff at Hanceville Nursing and Rehab Wednesday morning by staff from Wallace State Community College’s Agriculture/Horticulture Production program.

“As our close neighbor in Hanceville and a longtime community partner for service-learning events and clinical instruction, Hanceville Nursing and Rehab was a logical place for our donation of approximately 240 Easter lilies,” said Dr. Vicki Karolewics, president of Wallace State. “They have almost exactly that number of residents and staff.”

All around throughout the current crisis, neighbors are helping neighbors, checking on those who are isolated or homebound, and finding a way to bring joy to those most vulnerable, even when visiting in person isn’t possible.

Each year the college grows and delivers hundreds of Easter lilies to state and local organization and even to the Alabama Capitol. The college also sells those and other spring plants through its Agriculture/Horticulture Production program, which gives students experience not just in propagating and cultivating plants but also in the business side of horticulture. The Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to that this year.

“One of our most cherished forms of outreach and instruction each year around this time involves the delivery and sales of our Easter lilies in our community and across the state, and we look forward to resuming that tradition next year,” Karolewics said.

This is just one of the ways Wallace State is helping the community during this crisis. Instruction and services are available to support students remotely. Alums are working on the frontlines in healthcare and on the supply lines in fields like culinary arts, agriculture, transportation and logistics. Employees and students are volunteering in their communities to offer support where they can, making masks, delivering meals, donating food and other necessities. The College’s health science division donated its supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to UAB hospital when it reached out for support. Among other partnerships for joint enrollment and in healthcare, Wallace State and UAB have a joint ADN to BSN program.

Additionally, the Wallace State Future Foundation is collecting donations to support students who need additional assistance to overcome unexpected challenges they are now facing. Those challenges include food insecurity, technology needs to complete their education and loss of income. Visit www.wsccfuturefoundation.org/emergencyaid to donate.

Wallace State was designated as Caring Campus this year by the Institute for Evidence Based Change.

For more information about Wallace State visit www.wallacestate.edu. Registration for Summer 2020 is currently underway. Classes will begin May 20.