The fourth annual Shrimp and Bingo Scholarship Fundraiser raised a record $23,350 for the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) Foundation to fund DMACC Water Environmental Technology (WET) program scholarships for students. Over the past four years, $75,527.55 has been raised in this annual fundraiser.
People from the water and wastewater treatment industry, DMACC employees, including President Rob Denson and students from the program, enjoyed a meal of shrimp and other selections, played bingo and won great prizes. Some of the prizes this past year included $250 worth of beef and pork raised by the DMACC Ag Department, four tickets to a gourmet dinner prepared by DMACC Iowa Culinary Institute™ students, four tickets to an Iowa State University football game, an Ames Getaway package, Ryobi tool set, six $100 gift certificates and numerous smaller gift certificates.
DMACC Business Resources Project Officer Dennis Hayworth said the water and wastewater industry needs highly skilled workers because the jobs are becoming more technical. He also said the job market is extremely attractive because numerous employees in the profession are quickly approaching retirement age.
The annual Shrimp and Bingo event is a collaboration between DMACC and several industry groups including the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU), Iowa Association of Water Agencies (IAWA), Iowa Water Environment Association (IAWEA), Iowa Section of American Water Works Association (IAWWA) and the Iowa Rural Water Association (IRWA).
Planning is already underway for next year’s Shrimp and Bingo event to be held Saturday, August 27, 2016.
About DMACC
Des Moines Area Community College, a public institution serving the educational and career training needs of Iowans, is committed to the lifelong success of its students. As Iowa’s largest two-year college, DMACC offers 222 programs, certificates and transfer degrees, annually serving more than 70,000 credit and noncredit students on six campuses and six learning centers. Thanks to college-wide innovation, new programs and affordable tuition, DMACC continues to experience solid growth. For more information, please visit www.dmacc.edu.