College Connection — Party like it’s 1930
By Randy Griffin
Friday, November 6, 2009 10:52 AM PST
It’s finally here. This weekend, Treasure Valley Community College Foundation is throwing one of the best parties of the year. And the best part is, not only will it be a great event, it’s for a great cause.
“The Sting,” a 1930s casino-style event, fashioned after the movie of the same title, is the premier event for the Foundation’s annual campaign in support of the students and programs at TVCC. The event begins at 7 p.m. this Saturday at the Four Rivers Cultural Center. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the door for $25.
Admission for this 21 and up event includes food, drinks and casino chips.
The event features blackjack, a craps table, roulette and raffles throughout the night. Food and drinks are included. The Foundation has trips, gifts, gift certificates and other items available (just in time for the holiday gift-giving season). Plus, it’s a great night to just relax and enjoy some good fun. Attendees dress in 1930s flair, and the room is full of music and energy.
For the past few months, the TVCC Foundation board members and volunteers have been working tirelessly to solicit gifts and auction items for this annual fundraiser. In addition to the games, there are more than 150 silent auction items and nine live auction items.
Live auction items include the following:
— 30 minute airplane ride — donated by Roger Smith
— One engraved stone — donated by Ontario Rock & Landscape Supplies
— $1000 scholarship to TVCC — donated by Treasure Valley Community College
— $600 gift certificate toward Derm Spa Service — donated by CT Derm and Dr. Carl Thornfeldt
— 60-inch full-size pickup tool box — donated by Les Schwab, Ontario
There are too many great silent auction items to list each one, but we are incredibly grateful for each and every item and cash donation. We are especially appreciative of your generous support in these tight economic times. Business owners, community members, faculty and staff have continued to support this event as a way to show their commitment to helping students — and we are so grateful.
Cathy Yasuda, executive director of the TVCC Foundation, told me that the number of items donated for this year’s event exceeded last year’s count!
It’s this consistent support that has also allowed the TVCC Foundation to exceed expectations. As we look forward to announcing some major projects in the near future, it’s encouraging to see such support and goodwill toward the college.
Contributions to this event, as well as to our scholarship programs, allows the Foundation to help students at TVCC. Funds provide emergency dollars to help students balance the demands and responsibilities of full- or part-time jobs, college coursework and family life. The students we help are all so different, from single parents to returning adults searching for a new career to recent high school graduates.
A scholarship means many things to them — less financial stress, the knowledge someone believes in them and an incentive to keep trying, even when nothing seems to go right.
One of the best parts about being in education is having the privilege of seeing lives transformed — getting to be a part of a place where people come every day — not because they have to, but because they want to be here.
I’m so proud to see our community members invest in college programs and scholarship opportunities because they know education changes communities.
“The Sting” is not just a fundraiser — it’s one of our biggest friend-raising events too. Everyone is welcome, and we promise you’ll have a great time!
For tickets or more information, call (541) 881-8822, ext. 201.
Randy Griffin is acting president of Treasure Valley Community College.
