Party on Aug. 17 and WCU Date Auction on Aug. 18 will benefit MedWest-Harris Mother and Baby Unit

8/13/2012

Party on Aug. 17 and WCU Date Auction on Aug. 18 will benefit MedWest-Harris Mother and Baby Unit

Sylva, N.C. – A party on Friday, Aug. 17 and a "WCU Sports the Cause" Date Auction on Saturday, Aug. 18 are part of a Going "Ga Ga" for MedWest-Harris fundraising weekend benefiting the renovation of MedWest-Harris’ Mother and Baby Unit. 

At 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 17, Rae's City Grill at 86B W. Main St. in Sylva is hosting a party sponsored by Charles H. Toledo, MD of WNC Pediatric and Adolescent Care in Sylva. Bobby Sullivan will play music. The cover charge is $5, with half the proceeds going to the renovation of the MedWest-Harris Mother and Baby Unit. 

From 10 p.m. until 2 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 18, a "WCU Sports the Cause" Date Auction also will be held at Rae’s City Grill with Toledo and Fusions Healing Center & Spa sponsoring the event. The Date Auction will include Western Carolina University athletes donating their time to be auctioned off for dates and music and emceeing by the Delaware-based performance hip-hop group Typical Friday Night, also known as TFN. 

ocal businesses are donating dinners and activities for the auctioned dates. These include dinner or brunch from Guadalupe Cafe, a bottle of wine and meat and cheese platter from Papou's Wine Shop, a river rafting trip for two from Dillsboro River Company and a boxed lunch from Main Street Bakery & Cafe. 

There will be a $5 cover charge for the Aug. 18 event. All of the cover charge proceeds and all of the money raised from the date auction will go to the MedWest-Harris Mother and Baby Unit renovation. 

The fundraising committee for the Aug. 17 and 18 events also organized a silent auction at City Lights Cafe and a community yard sale in the MedWest-Harris parking lot. The committee includes Charles and Sonia Toledo with WNC Pediatric and Adolescent Care; Julie Sylvester with Pinnacle Events; Sandra Dennison and Shannon Ambrose, both with Fusions Healing Center & Spa; and Tommy Dennison with the Southwestern Community College Small Business Center. 

For more information about the Aug. 17 and 18 events, call Sandra Dennison at (828) 342-4931 or Shannon Ambrose at (912) 704-7536. 

Charles H. Toledo, MD is a candidate in the Disco King contest, which is part of the MedWest-Harris & Swain Foundation’s upcoming “That ‘70s Gala” fundraiser Saturday, Aug. 25. As part of the contest, Toledo is competing to be the Disco King who raises the most money for the gala benefiting MedWest-Harris’ Mother and Baby Unit. The other Disco King candidates are Howard D. Allman, agency owner of Nationwide Insurance Co. in Sylva, and Jim Miller, associate vice chancellor for development at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. 

The Disco Queen candidates this year are Currie Custer, MD of Current Dermatology and OB/GYN in Sylva; Katherine Trousdale of Keller Williams Realty in Bryson City; and Patty Ward, vice president of nursing for MedWest-Harris and MedWest-Swain. 

All proceeds from “That ‘70s Gala” will help renovate the Mother and Baby Unit. Nearly 800 babies are born each year at MedWest-Harris, receiving excellent care from the obstetricians, midwives, nursing staff and pediatricians who care for the families on the Mother and Baby Unit. 

“That ‘70s Gala” is at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 25 at Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel Event Center in Cherokee. It will feature an evening of disco dancing, dinner, a silent auction and live music from The Vinyl Brothers Big Band. Partygoers are encouraged to dress in 1970s style. Now in its 13th year, the Gala is the Foundation’s largest fundraiser. 

Reservations for “That ‘70s Gala” are $100 per person. To be a Table Sponsor, the cost is $1,200 for a table of 10. Checks can be sent to the MedWest-Harris & Swain Foundation, 98 Doctors Dr., Suite 315, Sylva, North Carolina, 28779. 

For more information about “That ‘70s Gala” or the Foundation, contact Executive Director of Foundations Steve Brown at (828) 631-8924 or steve.brown@haymed.org, or Foundation Assistant Linda Claus at (828) 631-8924 or linda_claus@westcare.org. 

The MedWest-Harris & Swain Foundation was created to ensure that quality healthcare will be available to the people of this region now and in the future. The Foundation endowment is a permanent fund, which continues to grow from both gifts and earnings. All donations are tax-deductible and are used to fund new state-of-the-art medical equipment, staff development, new and innovative health services and community programs that directly impact the life of the residents of Western North Carolina. Donations are not used for routine operating costs.