Key representatives from Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) and First Niagara Financial Group (First Niagara) gathered today inside the future home of Gateway Community College (GCC) to announce that each will donate $500,000 to the Gateway Community College Foundation, leading the public phase of its $6 million “Your College. Your Future” building campaign.

With these gifts, the campaign, set to officially kick off Oct. 27, has already raised over $2 million to provide state-of-the-art equipment and program-related materials for Gateway’s new downtown New Haven campus.

“The key to a robust Greater New Haven economy is creating jobs and filling them with qualified, well-educated workers,” states Dorsey L. Kendrick, Ph.D., president of Gateway Community College. “This support from our friends at Yale-New Haven Hospital and First Niagara is one more example of innovative partnerships that provide students with the job skills they need to succeed in and contribute to our region’s workforce.”

The Foundation plans to acknowledge Yale-New Haven Hospital’s and First Niagara’s campaign gifts by naming two major areas of the campus after the generous donors; the Nursing Suite ultimately will bear YNHH’s name, and the library, First Niagara’s.

“Our support of Gateway’s building campaign is a perfect representation of First Niagara’s approach to community involvement in every market we serve,” said First Niagara Senior Vice President, Community Development, Paul McCraven. “By partnering with the school and others in the development of this downtown campus, we are helping students make a difference in their professional lives. That bodes well for the strength our workforce, the health of local businesses and the future of Greater New Haven.”

“Yale-New Haven Hospital has been a proud supporter of Gateway Community College for nearly a decade, providing resources for the development of its exceptional nursing program,” said Marna P. Borgstrom, President and CEO of Yale-New Haven Hospital. “This additional commitment to Gateway’s capital campaign builds upon our partnership. The proceeds will be used to ensure that the next generation of nursing professionals will have the opportunity to learn their profession in a state-of-the-art building.”

The Gateway Community College Foundation launched the Your College. Your Future campaign to raise the additional $6 million to fund equipment and programming and to underwrite long-term student support services like scholarships and help students overcome temporary financial barriers. The State of Connecticut funded the $198 million construction costs for the downtown campus, which opens in August 2012.

GCC currently serves more than 11,000 full- and part-time students each year. The new campus will offer 90 general purpose classrooms, 10 meeting spaces, 22 computer labs, 12 science laboratories and 1,300 parking spaces, as well as a Library; Cafeteria; Bookstore; Art Gallery; and Early Learning, Multi-Purpose Community, Health, Culinary Arts, Literacy Volunteers, and Small Business centers. The four-level, 358,000 square-foot facility is the largest one-time state-funded construction project to date, and Connecticut’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold-certified public building, a distinction earned by its environmentally friendly design and sustainable building construction.

“This impressive commitment by Yale-New Haven Hospital and First Niagara demonstrates their commitment to the economic well-being of our region,” Kendrick explains. “Collaboration and partnership of this magnitude between businesses and individuals within our community makes all the difference to the quality of education and training that we can offer. This generous investment allows the college to develop a qualified workforce and make Greater New Haven a better place to live, work and raise a family.”