(Photo provided by the JCCC Foundation)

With a ballroom full of laughter, music, and fine dining, the JCCC Foundation’s Some Enchanted Evening Gala may look just like any other celebration. But behind the glitz and glamor, this event is responsible for raising over $1.5 million in scholarships for JCCC students.

With the numbers rising each year, the event provides scholarships to over 1,600 students, allowing them to pay for classes without financial burden.

During the gala, students’ work and the college’s success are featured, allowing donors to see just how much their contributions are affecting students’ lives on and off campus.

“This year, we’re focusing on fire safety, nursing, interior design, fashion design, plumbing, veterans, journalism, photo journalism, STEM, floral design, music programs, animation, fine arts-painting, and Culinary,” said Joy Ginsburg, Executive Director of the JCCC Foundation. “So we’re coordinating with a lot of different departments.”

Besides highlighting the programs across the campus, the event creates a place for community members to unite and share their passions for the school.

“People call it the Johnson County prom,” Ginsburg said. “…It’s a way for community leaders, business leaders, [and] elected officials to come together and just have a great night to celebrate the amazing organization that Johnson County Community College is.”

In addition to promoting the college’s successes, each year the foundation honors a community member with the title of “Johnson Countian of the Year,” which is decided by the foundation’s committee.

This year, Jon Stewart became the first JCCC alumnus to receive the award.

“I enrolled in the fall of 1980, seven years after I graduated from high school,” Stewart said. “JCCC and its amazing faculty were adept at instilling confidence in a non-traditional student like me. They helped me make it to an associate’s degree and prepared me for completion of my business degree at KU.”

Stewart is grateful for the opportunities that JCCC gave him, and he believes that the scholarships the foundation provides make quite an impact.

“The best thing about Some Enchanted Evening is not the award that I will receive,” Stewart said. “It is the over [$1.5 million] that will be raised for scholarships that will help JCCC students improve their lives through education.”

“It is such an emotional event, because you really feel the impact that you’re making for students,” Ginsburg said. “It’s an opportunity to dress up, have fun, connect with other business and community leaders. But, at the end of the day, really, [donors] come because they care about our students. They care about making an impact in their lives. They care about workforce development and the needs that they have in the workforce that we’re filling a gap for.”

Next year’s 40th anniversary Gala is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7. If you’re interested in becoming a donor, save the date.