VanLandingham Rotary and WTOC gear up for auction

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By Jaime Dailey - bio | email

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (WTOC) - The VanLandingham Rotary Club Auction is just weeks away, and with one important mission in sight, helping to finish building a new Children's Center.

The new center is being built on the North end of Hilton Head Island, near Jarvis Creek Park just off of William Hilton Parkway and Pembroke Drive.

With affordable day care hard to come by these days, the Children's Center will soon be able to help even more families.

For the past 40 years, the Children's Center on Hilton Head Island has provided families with affordable daycare based on their income. But over the years, they've outgrown their aging facility.

"It's definitely needed," said Hilton Head site director Tonya Jenkins. "With any of that age, we have lots of problems we're encountering and it would be better for us to have a new facility.

Soon, they'll be moving into their new building thanks to the VanLandingham Rotary Club. They're teaming up with WTOC and on-air "auctioneer" Sonny Dixon, once again this year, preparing for their annual auction to raise the needed funds to help build the new center.

"We've raised $300,000 to date and coming up in February, we expect to balance out the $350,000 with at lease $50,000," said Sonny Huntley, Rotary Club member.

"The Children's Center is a wonderful organization and is very beneficial to our community," said John Myer. "It's one of the oldest non-profit organizations on the island and they are in desperate need of this facility so we were more than happy to jump on board."

On Tuesday, they got a look at what they've been working so hard to make a reality.

"It's truly overwhelming," said Diane Fornari, Rotary Club president. "I didn't realize how large it was and what it is going to offer the children. I'm swept away."

"What we've been doing is talking about it and raising the funs for all of these years and now it's actually here and under construction," said Huntley.

The Children's Center's chairman of the board, David Ames, says they can now care for more children and help more families.

"Its a huge change from where the children are now. It's twice the size, has more rooms for program enhancement and it's a fantastic facility," said Ames. "We have an art room, multi-purpose room, which is the Vanlandingham Room."

A room, and a center, the Van Landingham Rotary takes pride in.

"We like to see the blocks, the wood, the building going on and so we know we've put our money right here and it's going to have a huge impact on the young people in this community," said Huntley.

The Children's Center is hoping to open the doors at their new facility this summer. The Rotary Club is going to be raising more funds for that building during their auction later this month.

You can watch the VanLandingham Auction live right here on WTOC on February 28th from noon until three.

They've got all kinds of great auction items including vacations, golf and spa treatments.

Visit www.vlrauction.com to check out some of the items.