Correction: This version of the story corrects the reference to Angelina Smith's father as having died. He is still living.

Wednesday’s Gift of Education luncheon hosted by the Cape Fear Community College Foundation raised about $225,000 for financial aid, officials announced at the event.

The annual luncheon, held at CFCC’s Schwartz Center, drew more than 400 people, officials said. Attendees were asked to make a minimum gift of $100.

The numbers were down from past years.

More than 600 people attended last year’s Gift of Education event, which raised an estimated $300,000 for student scholarships, according to a news release from CFCC last May. The numbers were very similar for the 2014 luncheon.

"We did slightly cut back on the number of tables at this year's event due to space constraints in the facility, and out of respect for everyone's time (in an effort to keep the event to an hour)," CFCC spokeswoman Rachel Nadeau said in an email Wednesday afternoon."It worked very well this year, and we have already received positive feedback on the more intimate atmosphere.

"We anticipate that the $225,000 raised (which was the initial count during the event) will continue to grow as donations come in," Nadeau added.

Foundation officials calculated that the average per-person donation was up 12 percent this year over past years.

Wednesday’s keynote talk focused on the success that CFCC nursing graduates find in their careers. Mary Ellen Bonczek, senior vice president and chief nurse executive at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, introduced several graduates and told their stories.

Three CFCC students also spoke, testifying to the importance of financial aid in enabling them to attend college.

Addison Palanza, a retired U.S. Army captain who served in Iraq and subsequently attended law school, talked about his decision to use the last of his G.I. Bill funds to enroll  in CFCC’s boat-building program. The experience, he said, was helping him make the transition back to civilian life after the rigors of deployment and the back injury he sustained in Iraq.

“I found that as I was shaping the boat, it was really shaping me,” Palanza told the audience.

Angelina Smith told of her lifelong desire to become an auto mechanic like her father. Although she followed other career paths for a number of years, she adopted the motto "No Regrets" as a volunteer at Lower Cape Fear Hospice and determined to find a way to train for her dream career. CFCC provided both the opportunity and the financial help she needed.

Joanne Demers found her way to CFCC after leaving a longtime abusive marriage. Her determination to build a better life for herself and her son led her to pursue higher education at CFCC, where scholarships enabled her to become a full-time student. She earned three associate’s degrees in two-and-a-half years with top grades and graduated earlier this month. 

Since 2008, state-mandated tuition increases have increased tuition 80 percent, from $672 to $1,216, according to information from the college. The cost of a student's books for one semester is about $700.