ARLINGTON — The Arlington “Dollars for Scholars” Foundation will have a chance to double their money in one night, when they stage their annual Bingo fundraising event on Oct. 1 at Presidents Elementary.

“Dollars for Scholars” awards scholarships to local high school graduates to help them pay for their post-secondary school dreams. Every year since 1999, the Arlington chapter has been able to take advantage of a matching grant offered by the Washington state Board of Higher Education. If the Arlington chapter can raise $2,000, the state Board will match it.

“For us, that’s free money,” said Sandie Cooper, president of the Arlington chapter. “Every year, with the help of our local businesses and community members, we’ve made our goal and received those matching funds.”

This year’s event theme is “Ugly Ties,” which is intended to help make the event fun and interesting for the whole family, according to Cheryl Boatman, secretary of the Arlington chapter.

“We’ll be serving food along with the Bingo games, so it’s an evening out for everyone to enjoy,” Boatman said. “This year, we also have free entertainment, courtesy of the Star Energy Dance Troupe, which will perform at 5:30 p.m., before the Bingo games start at 6 p.m. We encourage everyone to come wearing the ugliest, most outrageous ties they can find, and we’ll have a contest to crown the ugliest tie of the evening.”

For those who own only attractive ties, the Arlington chapter will have an assortment of ugly ones available for purchase at a nominal price during the Bingo night. Prizes including themed gift baskets and local restaurant gift certificates, all valued at $25 each, will be awarded to the winner of each round of Bingo.

Presidents Elementary is located at 505 E. Third St. in Arlington. Its doors will open at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 1, and food may be purchased at that time and throughout the evening. Bingo itself will run from 6-8:30 p.m. Tickets will be $10 per person for a packet of 15 games, or $25 for a family of two adults and two children, for four packets of 15 games.

All proceeds will go toward scholarships for students of the Arlington School District. This past spring, the Arlington chapter awarded $50,000 to 73 deserving students. More information about the Arlington “Dollars for Scholars” Foundation may be found online at www.arlingtondfs.org.