By David Hurtado
The college will be holding its annual fundraiser, “Dollars for Scholars,” April 20 at 5 p.m. in the Carlsen Center. It is sponsored by friends, alumni, staff, students and faculty of the college.
Dollars for Scholars will feature a silent auction, games of chance, a raffle, refreshments and a draw down board. Kristin McDaniel, director of events and projects, said attendees can expect to see a good inventory of items to choose from at the silent auction.
“There are items like restaurant gift cards, sports tickets and a lot of unique items from the international students,” McDaniel said. “Sometimes [international students] have very unique items from different countries. The interior design group has items from a lot of home furnishings and businesses that they do internships with.”
The silent auction items are at booths and each booth is manned by a different group of students. What they auction off in the silent auction at their booths provides the money they get for their cause, whether it’s their scholarship or their service learning project. Some of the groups use the money for competition and others for certification testing.
The drawdown board is similar to dodge ball in that it uses elimination to determine a winner. Participants can purchase a $25 ticket for a chance to win, and at the end of the fundraiser the last three ticket holders standing will receive a set amount of money. Ticket holders are eliminated by having their tickets picked out at random.
According to McDaniel, this year only the paramedics are hosting a game of chance.
“The paramedics are going to have a Wii baseball game, but you have to pay if you want to play it,” McDaniel said.
Kelsey Boydston, student, said she thought the Dollars for Scholars fundraiser was a great idea.
“That’s always a good thing, students need all the help they can get nowadays,” Boydston said.
The event has raised $60,000 in the past, but last year the number was down around $40,000, according to McDaniel. Refreshments will include hot dogs, brat and veggie combos for $4.95 each and desserts made by the culinary team. Participants can also reserve a table for $200 that includes 8 bid cards for the silent auction and a stadium basket.
The stadium basket includes bay scallop seviche spoons, beef carpaccio rolls stuffed with truffle sweet onions and assorted cupcakes. Bid cards for the silent auction will cost $10 for participants or $5 for students with photo ID. A cash bar will be available.
Contact David Hurtado, reporting correspondent, at dhurtado@jccc.edu.