From right to left, John Billdt, Sharon Billdt, Bob McClure and Wendy McClure and friends play Bingo to benefit scholarships for Arlington students Saturday, Sept. 29, in the fifth annual Bingo for Scholars presented by the Arlington branch of the national Dollars for Scholars program. Organizer George Boulton said that approximately $1,200 was raised from admission with Bingo cards and concessions in this effort to raise money for students of Arlington School District including Weston High and Stilly Valley School as well as Arlington High School grads. All the prizes were restaurant certificates donated by Arlington area restaurant owners.
We thought it was a success, Boulton said. It was a cold wintery night, but good for Bingo.
The event raised enough to get a match of $1,000 from the state board of higher education, Boulton said, adding that most of the scholarships go to graduating seniors except a few endowments for olders students such as the Loren Kraetz endowment for upper classmen and another endowment from the doctors and medical community who give $1,500 to upper level students each year.
Presidents Elementary is a nice place to have Bingo, Boulton said, noting that they paid $75 to use the school and they bought the pizza but all the rest of the concessions including cookies, coffee and sodas were donated by their membership. Dollars for Scholars is a national organization that pools local dollars to reap matches from larger organizations.