Tickets are on sale for Ventura College Foundation’s 40th Anniversary Gala, Friday, October 20 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Museum of Ventura County (100 East Main Street, Ventura). The gala will celebrate the successes of Ventura College students and the decades of board leadership and dedicated donors.

The VC Foundation began in 1983 to help remove the financial barriers that often prohibit students from reaching their education goals. According to Ventura College data, 52 percent of the college's current 10,000-student population is classified as extremely low-income or low-income.

“Without the foundation’s help, many VC students would struggle as they try to keep up with their studies while facing severe economic challenges,” says Anne Paul King, executive director of the Ventura College Foundation. Many students need assistance with food and housing and have to work multiple jobs.

Since its inception, the Foundation has raised over $48 million for Ventura College and its students for the Ventura College Promise, scholarships, textbook lending, and campus programs like Basic Needs, Career Education, Athletics, and more.

“The Foundation’s board leadership and its donors’ generosity have impacted tens of thousands of students over the years,” says King. “The foundation’s VC Promise program, where full-time, first-time, first year and second year students can attend school tuition-free, was groundbreaking when established in 2007. It became the model for the statewide California College Promise program in 2017.

Gala sponsorship opportunities are available for individuals, corporations and foundations.

Go to https://venturacollegefoundation.org/40th-anniversary/ to purchase gala tickets or sign up to become an event sponsor.

For more information, please contact Anne Paul King at 805-289-6160, aking@vcccd.edu.