The majority of our region is Hispanic and face challenges including high unemployment rates, low-income levels, skills gaps, and high poverty levels. The area’s low educational attainment rates contribute to the stunting of social and upward mobility within the region.The West Hills Community College District (WHCCD) serves approximately: 10,000 students, spanning: 3,464 square miles of rural communities on the Westside of Fresno and Kings counties.
WHCCD is focused on collaborative efforts to increase educational attainment rates within the region it serves and seeks to help drive regional economies and upward mobility. Although educational attainment may provide community members with credentials that open the door to better employment options, WHCCD also realizes continued economic development and sustained investment in both Fresno and Kings counties is needed to support a larger, more diverse, and 21st century job ready workforce. Through public-private partnerships, we are seeking to broker solutions to the economic crises and challenges in the Valley while placing emphasis on cultural transformation and regional economic growth. While raising the region's educational attainment levels is the goal, attainment is only possible if students first enroll. WHCCD has cultivated a partnership with Univision which will help communicate strong regional messaging in Spanish that encourages college enrollment while reaching our target audience and their families in an organic way through an annual television and radio campaign. This campaign will address possible Hispanic students, their families, and extended families by honestly addressing unique challenges these individuals face.
WHCCD is dedicated to helping change our region’s perspective on higher education, a perception that often discourages college enrollment because college is seen as a barrier to immediate employment after high school.
WHCCD seeks to create an external culture change: a shift toward acceptance of college enrollment.
For many individuals living in our region, attending college may seem beyond their means. Most are working to support their families. WHCCD is looking to assure our communities that college is not only manageable, but also attainable within the constraints of their daily lives.
In partnership with Univision, WHCCD seeks to launch a comprehensive television and radio campaign that addresses our region's unique challenges and places emphasis on how educational attainment can occur. Univision Campaign Details: • Integrated on-the-ground, on-the air broadcast effort, together with the country’s leading Spanish-language Media and cultural influencer, UNIVISION.
▪ Unlike General Market Media and audiences, Hispanic families consume broadcast programming and many events as a family where all generations including those who influence the next generation participate.
• Broadcast & on-the-ground elements include:
▪ Long and short format “Day in the Life” video stories that portray realities and opportunities for empowerment in the lives of these generations—for broadcast and digital delivery.
▪ In-programming interviews with families, educators, students, employers and role models to discuss the challenges and breakthroughs, with clear pathways to access higher education and career opportunities.
▪ Live Call Centers on-air to answer questions of students and families, much like a telethon format, in their language speaking directly to how and why.
▪ Engagement at community events to dialogue with students and their families, again offering clear pathways.
▪ Mobile, on the road pop-ups inside neighborhoods for one-on-one engagement. We are seeking partners to help us uplift and equip our population, while growing our region's output and self-esteem and creating a built-in workforce development tool for regional industries. If you are interested in helping to generate a better equipped workforce and branding your organization a true community builder, with logo and appropriate credit in all communications as a founding sponsor, please contact us today! Alex Perez
Executive Director, WHCC Foundation (559) 577-4687 alexperez4@whccd.edu Amber Myrick
District Director of Marketing, Communications, and Public Information
559-934-2132
ambermyrick@whccd.edu