Page 30 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2016

PEOPLE dancing like the stars MOONLIGHT
MAGNOLIAS
Having fun and raising money for disaster relief
Nstory by Alexis Williams photos courtesy American Red Cross
ine years ago, the local chapter Moonlight and Magnolias will also include
of the American Red Cross spectacular food, drinks and décor from Beau was looking for a unique way Rivage as well as silent and live auctions and to raise money for its disaster music.
relief efforts and support Another highlight of the event is the ongoing programs. In line with presentation of the 2016 Humanitarian
the popular Dancing with the Stars television Award to Liz Corso Joachim. “Liz is certainly
show, the organization decided a dance competition would fit the bill for a fun and creative event.
Since then, Coast residents have taken their turns on the dance floor to compete for their own mirror ball trophy. This year, six Coast residents will dance on August 20 at the Beau Rivage — Anita Clarke, Caty Mahoney Hulett, Lynn Lofton, Jordan Nicaud, Mike Lipski and Robert Ridgeway.
“There is always somebody in the group
who is a good dancer,” said chapter Executive Director John McFarland. “With some lessons they look really, really good. It’s an awful lot of fun.”
Dancers practice for at least a month with a professional dance partner in a studio, working their dance practice and preparation into their already busy schedules. Their much-awaited performance is the centerpiece of the evening that hopes to raise $100,000 for disaster relief.
deserving,” McFarland said. “She is a long time community volunteer as well as being a good Red Cross supporter.”
According to McFarland, this has been a
very busy year in regard to disasters. From Christmas Eve to May, the Red Cross responded to two bad series of tornadoes and flooding, along with 600 single and multi-family fires.
“We’ve also been working hard preparing for hurricane season,” adds McFarland. “We are more ready now than we have ever been to respond.”
Disaster relief gets more expensive each
year, and funds raised during Moonlight and Magnolias will help with relief efforts and fund other important Red Cross programs.
“Most of the work in the Red Cross is done
by volunteers,” McFarland said. “We have 919 volunteers in our chapter and a small staff to raise money and coordinate the work. We run a very cost efficient, yet effective program.”
American Red Cross
South Mississippi Chapter
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