This Friday (hey, that's 11-11-11) could be your lucky night. Not only lucky for you, but for the hundreds of Milwaukee area teens who'll benefit from your attendance to the third annual Night by the River supporting local non-profit ArtWorks for Milwaukee.

What is ArtWorks for Milwaukee? This non-profit serves Milwaukee-area high school students that may face employment barriers post-graduation; barriers such as underperformance in high school, disabilities and lack of resources and/or mentors. Their programs create and provide paid internships in art-based programs assist with developing employable skills needed by jobs in any and all industries. Skills like communication, integrity, respect, problem solving and leadership skills, just to name a few.

According to Vanessa LaCoste, Board President of ArtWorks, "This is a great opportunity to give back to our community and help teens that truly need our training, ArtWorks hires Milwaukee teens that are having significant trouble in school, may have a disability, or are lacking a mentor. The internship program provides an opportunity to help them be successful in the real world of work.

"The major roadblock ArtWorks is facing is the securing the funding needed to meet the growing demands of youth who need this type of support. For our fall program 2011 we have had over 140 applicants but we are only able to offer eight intern positions due to current funding. Clearly there is a greater need than we can currently serve, we want to continue to expand our program offerings for more teens in the Milwaukee community."

Now, back to Night by the River.

This year's event takes place inside ManpowerGroup's Global Headquarters in downtown Milwaukee, and runs from 7 to 10 p.m. Your ticket includes the sampling of craft beers, wine tastings, Martita's guiltless margaritas and Rehorst cocktails, with hors d'oeuvres provided by fine local restaurants such as Beta by Sabor, Maxies Southern Comfort and Hotel Metro among many oth…