American Indian College Fund Annual Flame of Hope Gala Set for Thursday, October 20, 2011

DENVER, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 16th annual American Indian College Fund Flame of Hope Gala will be held at the Seawell Grand Ballroom at the Denver Center of the Performing Arts in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, October 20. All proceeds from the event will benefit scholarships for American Indian students.

A reception and silent auction will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and a program at 7 p.m. Black tie optional or Native dress is requested.

The event will feature headline entertainment by Native flutist R. Carlos Nakai and The Jared Stewart Band. Hattie Kauffman, award-winning television journalist with CBS, will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies. The Fund will honor Elouise Cobell for her groundbreaking work to uphold American Indian contract rights and ensure an education for Natives in the future.

A silent auction of Native arts and other items will also be featured at the event. Guests and others may also bid on auction items on the American Indian College Fund web site, where items will be featured at www.collegefund.org/gala.

Tickets are $150 per person.

Event sponsors include:

CADDO Solutions
The Coca-Cola Company
First American
IBM
Jenzabar, Inc
Kauffman and Associates, Inc
Lannan Foundation
Lumina Foundation
McDonald's Corporation
Native American Bank, NA
Nissan North America, Inc
Oneida Nation Foundation
Rick and Heather Black
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians
Tule River Indian Tribe
USA Funds
UPS Foundation
Watershed Investment Consultants
Wieden+Kennedy
Wilke Family Foundation

For tickets and sponsorship information, please contact Abi Whiteing at 303-426-8900 or [email protected]. Or visit www.collegefund.org/gala to register online.

About the American Indian College Fund

With its credo "Educating the Mind and Spirit," The American Indian College Fund is the premier scholarship organization for American Indian college students. The Fund was created in 1989 to raise funds for scholarships and support America's 33 tribal colleges. The Fund provides more than 6,000 scholarships annually.

SOURCE American Indian College Fund