Two lucky raffle ticket holders will ride away on new bicycles as Anoka-Ramsey Community College kicks off a fund-raising campaign for the new Bob Erickson Part-time Student Scholarship program in August.

A Trek bike valued at $309.99 has been donated by Allsports of Cambridge, Minn. for the winning ticket holder on the Cambridge Campus. A Trek 820 valued at $230 has been donated by Ramsey Bicycle of Ramsey, Minn. for the winner on the Coon Rapids Campus.

This Trek 820, valued at $230, has been donated by Ramsey Bicycle of Ramsey, Minn. for the winning ticket holder on the Coon Rapids Campus.

The new scholarship is named for Robert Erickson, Former Trustee of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. The Coon Rapids Foundation and the Cambridge Community College Foundation will administer the new scholarship program. Each foundation hopes to raise at least $500 this year. A scholarship will be awarded to one part-time student on each campus beginning next year.

Robert Erickson, Former Trustee of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System

Erickson has become identified with funding for part-time students because of his annual Scholarship Challenge bike tours. For the past two years, Erickson has bicycled more than 2,000 miles in a one-month period and visited each of the 53 campuses comprising the state system to bring awareness to the financial needs of part-time students. His efforts arose out of his belief that Minnesota’s financial aid program is outdated and does not address the needs of part-time students, who generally do not qualify for financial aid.

Erickson will kick off his third annual Scholarship Challenge bike tour on Aug. 23 at both campuses of Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC). During the kick-off festivities, winners for the Coon Rapids Campus and Cambridge Campus bike raffles will be selected. The Coon Rapids drawing is scheduled for 8:10 a.m.; the Cambridge drawing is scheduled for 11:10 a.m.

Raffle tickets for the scholarship fund-raisers can be purchased for $1 at the Information Center on each campus, beginning Aug. 2. A second-place prize in the Cambridge drawing will include four tickets to the Cambridge Community College Foundation’s Winter 2005 Dinner Fund-raiser. Second- and third-place prizes in the Coon Rapids drawing will include two tickets to the Coon Rapids Foundation’s popular fall event, the Prairie Home Delights dinner and silent auction.

For more information about Cambridge Community College Foundation’s fund-raising efforts, contact Lynnette Brambrink at 763-422-3436. For information about the Coon Rapids Foundation’s find-raising efforts, contact Lisa Sisson at 763-422-3329.

ABOUT ANOKA RAMSEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Anoka-Ramsey Community College, with campuses in Coon Rapids and Cambridge, has been a leading provider of higher education and training in the north suburban area of Minneapolis/St. Paul and East Central Minnesota since 1965. Annually, the college serves more than 9,000 learners of all ages as they pursue associate degrees that transfer as the first two years of a bachelor's degree, or certificate programs that lead immediately to rewarding careers. Anoka-Ramsey Community College is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System.