The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation hosted its inaugural Opening Doors Benefit Event on Oct. 1, which resulted in an overwhelming amount of community support for CWI students. Incredibly, initial reports show the event helped fundraise over $65,000 for student scholarships, including more than $38,000 donated through a scholarship paddle raise. Over 230 supporters packed the McCleary Auditorium at the Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise for an evening that featured a social hour, three-course dinner, live auction, and student speaker. The auction culminated with Zions Bank purchasing the head table for next year’s event.
The Foundation received a tremendous amount of community support in hosting the fundraiser, including donated auditorium use by Saint Alphonsus and catering by Thomas Cuisine and Hayden Beverage. The Foundation Board of Directors’ Marketing and Special Events Committee also played an integral part in planning the evening, thanks to countless hours of collaboration by Board President, Mary May, and Directors Ed Barrett and Joel Hickman.
The CWI Foundation would like to thank student speaker Margaret Slater, students with the CWI Presidential Ambassador program, and employees who helped provide tremendous support for the event. The CWI Foundation is excited to start planning next year’s fundraiser, which will be an important part of the ongoing effort to raise funds to Open Doors for CWI students.