Carin Schoppmeyer: NWACC benefit goes online

NWACC Foundation's Plant a Seed Soiree, presented by Walmart and Sam's Club, will be a virtual event April 23. The annual scholarship benefit will feature an online silent auction and a livestream of the program, beginning at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

Liz Anderson, executive director, tells me that last year the Foundation's general scholarship fund provided nearly $50,000 in scholarships. During the 2019-20 academic year, the Foundation offered more than $288,000 in endowed and annual scholarships, and more than 3,200 NWACC students received some form of financial aid during this past year, which is nearly 40 percent of eligible students this past fall semester alone.

Speakers for the benefit will include Mike Luttrell, Foundation board president; Evelyn Jorgenson, NWACC president; Tommie Flowers Davis, NWACC student; Jonathan Janacek, NWACC alumnus; and Larry Shackelford, NWACC scholarship donor and president and CEO of Washington Regional.

The silent auction will kick off at 9 a.m. April 19 and end at 9 p.m. April 23. Items include an original watercolor painting by Jorgenson; a one-night stay at 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville, with tasting dinner and wine for two; Globetrotter Bar party for 25 (includes three hours of service from a vintage Airstream bar); and four prime tickets for a Naturals Baseball game plus merchandise.

Individual tickets to the event are $100, and sponsorships are available.

According to the group's website: "Northwest Arkansas Community College is the largest community college in the state, and has, since its inception in 1990, successfully grown to steward over 8,000 students and 55 degrees and certificates.

NWACC's mission is to empower lives, inspire learning and strengthen community through accessible, affordable, quality education, guided by its vision to positively change the lives of those it serves.

The NWACC Foundation exists to encourage support for and aid in the continued development of NorthWest Arkansas Community College and "to solicit, accept, hold, invest and administer any gifts, bequests, or property of any sort for this educational purpose."

NWACC-Washington County opened in early 2020 in Springdale and offers courses in general education, nursing, health information management and emergency medical response and houses NWACC's High School Relations, which oversees the Early College Experience program.

For more event photos -- nwadg.com/photos/society.

Columnist Carin Schoppmeyer can be reached by email at cschoppmeyer@nwadg.com.