By Charla Wurm-Adams
cwurm@wbcowqel.com
Friday night at Dillinger’s Event Center was an opportunity for local ladies to let their hair down, so to speak, and flex their financial muscles. That they did at the Fourth Annual Power of the Purse American Red Cross fundraiser.
Local businesses donated some enticing gifts for the women to bid on like Disney World tickets, a diamond necklace and course the designer purses. If those bargains weren’t enough to thrill those in attendance, there was always a stroll down Bag Lady Boulevard for some real bargains.
Proceeds went to the local chapter of the Red Cross as Director Todd James explained.
“This is a great event, it celebrates the giving power of the ladies in our community and we have a fantastic team of volunteers, all ladies who have been working for the last few months to put all this together and they have done a great job of it,” James said. “All the money raised at the Power of the Purse is going to benefit Red Cross Services right here in Crawford County.”
The festivities included both live and silent auctions as well as a meal catered by Greenbriar Catering. Some of the local business who contributed items to the event were Ley Jewelers, The Amish Vault, Clady’s, Hurst Auto Body, Link’s Country Meats and the Picking Company.
James said the proceeds will be put to good use.
“That’s what we are doing every day, its helping folks who have been affected by disasters. Home fires are the single biggest disaster the Red Cross responds to. So, when folks are driven from their home from by fire, we are there to take care of immediate needs like food, clothing and shelter. We are here to collect life-saving blood for area hospitals to make sure that when folks need blood and the product that they’ve got them,” James said. “We are teaching people to save lives with our CPR and our first aid training and our babysitter training.
“What a lot of folks aren’t aware of but another vital role that we serve is we are the link between military families and service members in time of crisis. If there is an emergency on the home front and the military family needs to reach out to the service member and request their presence at home, the first call they make is to the Red Cross. We serve the role to make sure that all the information that’s needed is gathered, delivered to the Department of Defense and help get that message to that soldier, that sailor, that marine, that airman wherever they may be.”
Mike Zahn of Bucyrus was the auctioneer and WQEL’s Will Beard was the emcee.