Fundraiser held at ARCC Coon Rapids helps students pay for schooling.
By Jessica Lueck, Staff Reporter
A scholarship fundraiser was held on Feb. 18 by the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Foundation on the Coon Rapids campus where guests were invited to socialize, eat, drink and enjoy live music from the college’s own Jazz Ensemble group.
After the social gathering and messages from a few scholarship recipients and college President Kent Hanson, the guests then were treated to a showing of the musical “Guys and Dolls.”
The purpose of this event was to raise money for student scholarships as well and show off ARCC’s own theater talent. Last year more than $130,000 in scholarships were given to 130 students on the Coon Rapids Campus and this event was in hopes to raise more.
Two of the previous year scholarship recipients were present at the event and they gave some comments on what it felt like to find out they had received their scholarships.
“When I first found out, I was in my car and my boyfriend brought it to me from the mailbox and I opened it up and I could not believe it. I was so excited and shocked,” said Cassandra Bauer, a scholarship recipient.
Some of the excitement comes from not having to pay for tuition.
“When I got my scholarship it was a sense of relief and freedom because I didn’t have to worry about paying for it and getting good grades and all of that, I could just focus on getting good grades. So I was happy about that,” said Sophia Timmer, another recipient.
A Night with the Stars will take the place of the fundraiser that was previously held in the fall called Prairie Home Delights. According to Development Director Eric Olson, attendance was dropping more and more and it was time consuming to put together. There needed to be a change.
“The development committee got together and started brainstorming and the idea came out to do a dinner theater and so we ran with it and started putting it together and before you know it we were able to put an event together,” Olson said.
Anoka-Ramsey Community College Foundation has fundraisers and distributes scholarships twice a year. Students can apply for scholarships by stopping at the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Foundation office and picking up more information.
