The Golden Triangle United Negro College Fund Committee (UNCF) has announced the date of its annual banquet.

The event will be at 6 p.m. Jan. 18 at the American Legion Post 69 at 308 Legion Drive in Columbus.

Keynote speaker for the evening will be Mississippi District 41 State Representative Kabir Karriem. Admission is a donation of $40.

The UNCF is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. It provides scholarships, internships and operating funds for 39 historically black colleges and universities. Rust and Tougaloo Colleges are the two schools funded in the state of Mississippi through funds raised from UNCF.

Banquet committee chairperson Tracy Bridges noted that community businesses, organizations and individuals are encouraged to generously donate to the UNCF. Contributions will be acknowledged during the banquet.

“A mind is a terrible thing to waste but a wonderful thing in which to invest!” Bridges said, quoting the slogan of UNCF.

For more than 70 years, UNCF has raised more than $3.4 billion dollars to help more than 350,000 students attend and graduate from college. It has distributed more funds to help minorities attend school than an entity outside of the U.S. government.

Contributions may be made payable to Golden Triangle UNCF and mailed to P.O. Box 7915, Columbus, MS 39705, or may be made at the banquet. GTRUNCF also accepts contributions through CashApp and PayPal.

For more information, call (662) 352-3757 or email [email protected].