The KLM Scholarship Foundation hosted its 11th Annual Black and White Affair Charity Benefit Saturday, April 6th at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. Partygoers from Central Virginia and beyond painted the town black-and-white, with a splash of yellow. The 4-hour event kicked-off at 7pm with WTVR CBS 6 News Reporter/Anchor Shelby Brown serving as Mistress of Ceremonies.
It was an exciting evening of fun, music and festivities to raise funds for our book scholarship program. This year the foundation was able to achieve a history-making milestone with the award of $10,000 in Book Scholarships to Virginia State University , which was the winner of a new initiative launched by the foundation—The VA $10K Scholarship Giveaway.
The KLM SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION was founded over 16 years ago by our own Black Southern Belle, Virginia native and dynamic African-American visionary, Kimberley L. Martin. Due to her fortitude and commitment to making higher education affordable, she and the foundation have raised over a quarter of a million dollars for book scholarships for deserving Virginia students!
A private VIP cocktail reception was held from 6pm – 7pm. Guests enjoyed a casino night dance party and wore their fanciest party attire. Guests enjoyed a live jazz band, a live DJ, delicious food, gaming (Black Jack, Poker, Roulette) raffles, photo booth fun and more! The event also featured the Virginia Lottery’s big wheel. It was a huge crowd pleaser with guests taking home gift cards and lottery scratch tickets.
The organization added another layer of excitement to this year’s event by launching a new initiative—The VA $10K Scholarship Giveaway Contest. The KLM Scholarship Foundation partnered with WTVR CBS 6 for an online voting contest which allowed the public to vote for their favorite school to win a whopping $10,000 in book scholarships. Students, alumni
and university supporters were encouraged to vote online during the month of March. During Saturday’s Charity Benefit, the KLM Scholarship Foundation proudly announced the 2019 winning university with the most online votes was Virginia State University! As a result, ten $1,000 book scholarships will be available to students planning to attend the university in the fall.
“We are truly excited about this contest and the opportunity to assist ten deserving college students while having a widespread impact on higher education in Virginia,” said KLM Scholarship Foundation’s Founder, Kimberley L. Martin. “This history-making effort for the foundation to award $10,000 to one university is unprecedented in our legacy of service! We thank everyone for participating in our online voting contest; and we continue to be grateful for our supporters and partners.
The KLM Scholarship Foundation is more energized than ever to continue our mission to increase awareness about the
benefits of a college education and help scholars pay for a degree.”
About the KLM Scholarship Foundation – The KLM Scholarship Foundation is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization and has been making a positive impact in our community for 16 years. The volunteer-run organization has awarded over a quarter of a million dollars in book scholarships while supporting 28 Virginia colleges and universities.
Visit www.KLMFoundation.org for more information and to make a tax-deductible donation.
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