The annual Putting on the Ritz: A Gala of Giving brought a Winter Wonderland to the parking lot of the Scotland Memorial Hospital.
Katelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange
Putting on the Ritz is the Scotland Memorial Foundation’s premier event to raise money for health-related needs in the community ranging from education and awareness to mammograms, cholesterol, and blood pressure screenings for those in need.
Katelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange
This year the Putting on the Ritz’s “Fund the Need” was to support removing the roadblocks many have to getting proper healthcare. At the end of the night, those in attendance raised just over $62,000.
Katelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG — Laurinburg saw snow on Saturday as the annual Putting on the Ritz: A Gala of Giving brought a Winter Wonderland to the parking lot of the Scotland Memorial Hospital.
Putting on the Ritz is the Scotland Memorial Foundation’s premier event to raise money for health-related needs in the community ranging from education and awareness to mammograms, cholesterol, and blood pressure screenings for those in need. This year’s event had a few new items such as a 360 photo booth as well as seeing what might be the largest crowd yet.
“I think maybe we had the most people physically here than we ever have had,” said Foundation Executive Director Misty McMillan. “We had about 548 chairs set out this evening … I think that still speaks to the fact people do enjoy this event. They enjoy coming out and getting dressed up and supporting the Scotland Health Care System. I think everyone here knows what it means to have this hospital here.”
The theme for this year’s event, according to McMillan was the result of a conversation two years ago with a board member.
“About two years ago Richie Henley, who is one of our previous board members, told us she always wanted to do a Christmas theme,” McMillan said. “And so we turned this into a winter wonderland, narina, theme with some Christmas accents in so this all started with her in a conversation two years ago.”
This year the event’s “Fund the Need” was to support removing the roadblocks many have to getting proper healthcare. At the end of the night, those in attendance raised just over $62,000.
“We were a little short compared to last year,” McMillan said. “But the total will still go up because we had some gifts from before the event that weren’t totaled on the screen. So if anyone wants to donate to the Fund the Need, they can just call us at the Foundation Office.”
Despite coming short on the Fund the Need McMillan is grateful to all those who continue to support the Foundation and the Ritz.
“There is just so much that goes into this event that I think all of us breathe a sigh of relief when it’s over and nothing went wrong,” McMillan said. “Things went smoothly tonight and I think everyone had a great time. It is just amazing to watch this start as just a parking lot and turn into this beautiful venue.”
To donate to the Scotland Memorial Foundation you can call the office at 910-291-7551.