For the ninth year in a row, the Sandhills Chapter of the American Red Cross will join with Odom Auction and Manning United Methodist Church today to raise money for the midlands organization.
Dinner will start at 5:30 p.m. today at Manning United Methodist Church’s gymnasium, and the auction follows at 6 p.m. A donation for dinner is $5, and includes the meal, drink and dessert.
The auction benefits the charity, of course, which swoops in after terrible and disastrous events like fires, floods or vicious storms and aids families who are displaced and despondent.
Typically, the organization helps with temporary emergency shelter, toiletries and hygiene materials and food.
Executive Director Nancy Cataldo said the average cost per person is about $629 in the Sandhills Chapter’s four-county jurisdiction, which includes Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee and Sumter counties.
She said support during winter months can be more difficult, because families typically need “winter seasonal garments.”
“We always need the community’s support to assist families who have been displaced after home fires and other disasters,” Cataldo said.
John Milton Odom and his son, Johnny, will conduct the auction. Odom has been an advisory board member for the Sandhills Chapter for several years.
Cataldo said that 93 cents of every dollar made will benefit local residents. The chapter’s other three counties also hold their own similar fundraisers, with the same benefit.
