NJCDC Holds Ninth Annual Casino Night

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On Friday, March 22nd, NJCDC held our 9th Annual Casino Night at The Brownstone in Paterson. Thanks to our generous sponsors and supporters, the night was an incredible success. We raised $40,000 to help Paterson youth get into—and succeed while in—college. The funds will go towards a variety of NJCDC’s college readiness programming, including scholarships, campus tours (including our annual Ivy League Tour), college fairs, and more!

More than 80 guests joined us for an exciting night of food, music, and “gambling”—all to support Paterson’s next generation of college graduates. Guests included NJCDC Trustees Eric Daleo and Don Buckley, as well as the families of Board Treasurer David Berninger and Board Chair Martin Vergara. The evening began with a cocktail hour, before guests settled down at the games tables to play blackjack, craps, and roulette. Throughout the evening, guests also enjoyed delicious dinner and dessert buffets, a photo booth, and music from DJ Cito.

At the end of the evening, guests exchanged their chip winnings from the gaming for raffle tickets, which gave them a chance to win one of many exciting gifts. We are grateful to the local businesses and other donors that helped provide these gifts for the evening. While not every guest could win a prize, they all won in a different way—knowing that they had helped to make a difference in the lives of Paterson youth.

“Every dollar that we raise tonight will go to help young people get ready for college, go to college, and succeed in college,” NJCDC’s Founder and CEO Bob Guarasci told guests. “And that’s of extraordinary importance to us here in the City of Paterson. What we know is that kids from Paterson can compete with kids from everywhere—and your support tonight helps us to do that.”

Over the years, we have seen so much success from our college readiness programming. Last year alone, we had students accepted to Brown University and Georgetown University. This year, participants in our youth development programming have already been accepted into many colleges for the upcoming school year, including Dartmouth College, Rutgers University, Montclair State University, St. Peter’s University, and others. While we’ve achieved so much already, it is only with the support of our funders and partners that we can continue to provide this programming to Paterson youth.

NJCDC would like to extend a warm thank-you to this year's Casino Night sponsors and raffle prize donors!

Raffle Prize Donors:

Applebee’s – Clifton

Bar Method Montclair

Bulbhead

Bob’s Discount Furniture

Faubourg

Glen Ridge Country Club

Gwenn Levine

New Jersey Jackals

New York Giants

New York Jets

New York Mets

New York Red Bulls