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The Oleander 2 Civic and Social Club, legacies of the Oleander Club will be hosting its second annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Career Fair.

The event will help educate those in Covington County and surrounding areas on the opportunities available through HBCUs. The group is also partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and Lurleen B. Wallace Community College Forestry Department in providing educational, job and internship opportunities.

The event will be held Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, at LBW Community College from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Oleander 2 Civic and Social Club, established in 2004, is an organization dedicated to advocating on behalf of persons throughout the community by providing programs and services in the empowerment areas of education, health, economic, gender equity and leadership development. The club’s goal is to also partner with community entities that are interested in investing in the strengthening of our community residents’ quest for educational and career opportunities.

Through the work of the club, in partnership with the Forest Service, and generosity of businesses and individuals, the inaugural fair event held in 2022 produced two internship opportunities with the Forest Service for parents attending the event, a student competing for and winning a $160,000 USDA 1890 Scholars Scholarship to be used over the course of four years, several students benefitted from the essay writing presentation that afforded five students to receive scholarships from the Oleander Club and Oleander 2 Civic and Social Club along with several other students winning other local scholarships.

The club’s partnership with the USDA Forest Service and their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Lurleen B. Wallace Community College for over $400,000 also allows the organization and event to assist with outreach efforts to expose and reach out to underserved communities and diverse groups and the providing of educational opportunities at HBCUs.

“Attending this year’s event will provide many of the same opportunities for participants along with students and parents to attend separate lunch-and-learn sessions that will be facilitated discussions with current and recent graduate students of HBCUs and parents of current or recent graduates of HBCUs. This event is a wonderful opportunity for every community resident, particularly students, school counselors and parents,” a club representative said.

Attendees of the college and job fair may register for the event on GoToCollegeFairs, gotocollegefairs.swoogo.com/oleanderspring23.