Hudson County Community College Foundation Invites Community to Attend the 19th Annual Holiday Gala

November 4, 2016

November 4, 2016,  Jersey City, NJ – The Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Foundation will host its annual gala fundraiser at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 1, 2016. The event will be held in the College’s Culinary Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street in Jersey City – two blocks from the Journal Square PATH Transportation Center.

HCCC Vice President for Development Joseph D. Sansone said that this year’s gala will be uniquely different from those of the past.  The 2016 event, “A Gala Dining Experience,” will include a tour of the College’s Culinary Arts Institute (CAI) program kitchens, during which attendees will enjoy exquisite, international cuisine prepared by the HCCC CAI chefs/instructors.

“The food is always one of the highlights at the Foundation galas, and it’s really no wonder – the HCCC CAI has been ranked the number-six best culinary program in the country,” Mr. Sansone stated. He noted that the event has been planned to represent and celebrate the diversity of the College.

During the event, the College will present the 2016 Distinguished Service Awards, which recognize individuals and organizations for their work on behalf of the College and the people of Hudson County. This year’s honorees are:

  • James A. Fife, Mayor of Harrison, NJ and HCCC Trustee Emeritus.  Mr. Fife has a distinguished 28-year career in education, having served as a teacher, guidance counselor, Dean of Students, Assistant Principal, and Principal of Harrison High School. He has served on the boards of Hudson County Schools of Technology, Harrison Board of Education, Harrison Housing Authority, Hudson County Community College Board of Trustees (where he is now Trustee Emeritus), Pioneer Boys Scholarship Committee, and Harrison Redevelopment Agency. In 2014, Mr. Fife became the seventh Mayor of Harrison and was elected to a four-year term.
  • Joseph M. Napolitano, Sr.  Mr. Napolitano is a lifelong resident of Jersey City, U.S. Army veteran, musician, and songwriter who taught at Snyder High School, Louie DelMonte and Master School of Music, and who was the owner/proprietor of Jacob’s Deli. He has served on the boards of the Jersey City Recreation Foundation, Pershing Field Babe Ruth League, Jerramiah T. Healy Charitable Foundation, Rotary Club Jersey City-Daybreak, Boys & Girls Clubs of Hudson County, Jersey City Heights Civic Association, and Secretary of the Hudson County Community College Foundation Board of Directors. He was also a recipient of the 2015 Hudson County Community College Heritage Award.

Individual dinner tickets for the gala are available at $500.00 each.

There are several sponsorship opportunities, ranging from $2,400 to $20,000; complete information is available at https://www.hccc.edu/community/foundation/index.html.

In addition, the HCCC Foundation will hold its annual “Lucky Odds” raffle the evening of the gala. The “Lucky Odds” Grand Prize winner will receive 40% of the raffle ticket sales, the Second Prize winner 6%, and the Third Prize Winner 4%. Raffle tickets cost $50 each; ticket holders need not be present to win.

Additional information and all tickets may be obtained by emailing jsansoneFREEHUDSONCOUNTYCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE or phoning 201.360.4004.

The Hudson County Community College Foundation is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 corporation giving tax-exempt status to contributors. Since the Foundation was established in 1997, it has provided over $1.5 million in scholarships.

In addition, the HCCC Foundation established the Foundation Art Collection nine years ago to coincide with the initiation of the College’s Fine Arts studies program. Presently, the Collection includes over 900 paintings, lithographs, photographs, sculptures, and other works-of-art that are displayed throughout all of the buildings on the College’s Journal Square Campus and at the North Hudson Higher Education Center. Artists in the Collection include: Donald Baechler, Leonard Baskin, Elizabeth Catlett, Christo, Willie Cole, Edward S. Curtis, Marcel Duchamp, Lisa Parker Hyatt, Rockwell Kent, Joseph Kosuth, Valeri Larko, Roy Lichtenstein, Reginald Marsh, Méret Oppenheim, Robert Rauschenberg, Man Ray, Mickalene Thomas, and William Wegman. The Foundation also hosts a series of lectures called “Arts Talk,” which feature prominent artists and art authorities and scholars, and are open to the general public.

The HCCC Foundation’s Board of Directors also organizes and holds an annual Golf Outing, “Night at the Races,” and the HCCC Employees’ Scholarship Luncheon. Throughout the year there are other events held to build scholarship funds for students specifically from Hudson County’s northern, western, and Hoboken municipalities.