Central Lakes College Hosts “The Night Out” Fundraiser

Central Lakes College hosted their second annual “The Night Out” event tonight at the Northern Pacific Center. People filled the NP Event Space in Brainerd tonight celebrating CLC, all the while raising money for its students.

“The foundation has had an event for quite a few years, but last year we decided to try something just a little bit different,” said Jana Shogren, the Executive Director of the CLC Foundation. “It’s just a fun night for our community to come out and support our students.”

The proceeds raised from the event go towards the CLC Foundation, which provides students scholarships and financial help.

“The foundation is a great thing to be a part of because we raise money, and all of it goes to help students, so we fund many hundreds of scholarships every year. We have an emergency fund that helps students who are having maybe a short-term blip with rent or a car payment or a car repair,” said Lisa Wigand, who is a member of the CLC Foundation Board of Directors. “It’s all about the students.”

The foundation is also hoping enough money will be raised to go towards a new “Innovation Fund” as well.

“The Innovation Plan will be a pot of dollars that staff members can apply to to try new ideas at the college,” explained Shogren.

The money raised at the event is generated through ticket sales, as well as a unique silent auction. All of the silent auction items are either made by or affiliated with programs at CLC.

“A lot of them are student-made or instructor-donated, so it really kind of brings the whole picture full circle,” added Wigand.

“Our students created them or they are representative of something that we do at the college, so that’s what people get really excited about is to be able to see what we really have to offer at CLC through our silent auction,” added Shogren.

The scholarships that are made possible by The Night Out have an immense impact on the students at CLC.

“It has affected me greatly. Coming from a family of two older brothers, money’s not really there for, something to help pay for and when it comes to the money that I get from the scholarships, it affects me greatly because it’s a burden off of me,” said CLC student Katelyn Waytashek, who is a scholarship recipient. “I am thankful for all the people who donated.”

For the community, CLC staff, and CLC students alike, “The Night Out” was a night to remember.