Fundraising gala will celebrate the Collegeâ€s 40^th Anniversary and ‘Travel back to the beginning … 1974;†Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise will be honored that evening.

November 24, 2014, Jersey City, NJ – The Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Foundationâ€s 17^th Annual “Holiday Extravaganza” gala will take place on Thursday evening, December 4 at 6:00 p.m. at the Collegeâ€s Culinary Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street in Jersey City. Proceeds from the event – the largest and most festive of all of the Foundationâ€s fundraisers – will be dedicated to scholarships for deserving students, faculty development programs, and the Collegeâ€s physical expansion.

The theme of this yearâ€s event is “Travel back to the beginning … 1974,” in celebration of the Collegeâ€s 40^th Anniversary.

Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise will be honored at the gala in recognition for his steadfast support of Hudson County Community College and its students. Mr. DeGise has been particularly instrumental in supporting the Collegeâ€s physical expansion; since he became the County Executive in 2002, the College has completed from-the-ground-up construction of three new facilities – the Culinary Conference Center and Library Building in Jersey Cityâ€s Journal Square, and the North Hudson Higher Education Center in Union City. In addition, HCCC has renovated several other buildings in the Journal Square area, including 2 Enos Place, 70 Sip Avenue, and One PATH Plaza.

The Foundation “Holiday Extravaganza” features a hospitality hour and gourmet dinner feast prepared by the chefs/instructors of the Collegeâ€s nationally acclaimed Culinary Arts Institute, with service provided by students from the HCCC Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management program.

The Foundation will also hold its “Lucky Odds” raffle that evening. The Grand Prize winner receives 40% of the raffle ticket sales, Second Prize winner receives 6% and Third Prize Winner receives 4%. Raffle tickets cost $50 each; ticket holders need not be present to win.

The Hudson County Community College Foundation is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 corporation giving tax-exempt status to contributors. Since the Foundation was established in 1997, it has provided over $1.5 million in scholarships to more than 1,000 students.

In addition, the HCCC Foundation established the Foundation Art Collection eight years ago to coincide with the initiation of the Collegeâ€s Fine Arts studies program. Presently, the Collection includes more than 800 paintings, lithographs, photographs, sculptures, and other works-of-art that are displayed throughout all of the buildings on the Collegeâ€s Journal Square Campus and at the North Hudson Higher Education Center. Artists in the Collection include: Donald Baechler, Leonard Baskin, Elizabeth Catlett, Christo, Willie Cole, Edward S. Curtis, Marcel Duchamp, Lisa Parker Hyatt, Rockwell Kent, Joseph Kosuth, Valeri Larko, Roy Lichtenstein, Reginald Marsh, Méret Oppenheim, Robert Rauschenberg, Man Ray, Mickalene Thomas, and William Wegman. The Foundation also hosts a series of lectures called “Arts Talk,” which feature prominent artists and art authorities and scholars and are open to the general public.

The HCCC Foundationâ€s Board of Directors also organizes and holds an annual Golf Outing, “Night at the Races,” and the HCCC Employee Scholarship Luncheon. There are other events held throughout the year to build scholarship funds for students specifically from Hudson Countyâ€s northern and western municipalities.

A limited number of tickets for the December 4^th gala are still available at a cost of $500 each. Those tickets — as well as tickets for the “Lucky Odds” raffle — may be purchased by phoning HCCC Vice President for Development Joseph Sansone at 201-360-4006 or emailing jsansone@hccc.edu.

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