This year marks the fourth year that the Seminole-Largo branch of the All Children's Hospital Guild will return to the Seminole Pow Wow for another successful year. For 26 years, the annual event had been held in conjunction with the Largo Art Festival, and before that, the Bay Pine Art Festival. But due to inclement weather, the organizers decided to find another location four years ago.
Last year, the event raised over $8,000 for the St. Petersburg Hospital. The 30th Annual All Children's Benefit Auction will be held in the Seminole Recreation Center Auditorium on Friday, March 9th. There is a special Auction Preview from 5-6 p.m. and the Live Auction will start at 6 p.m. There will be over 150 items that will be auctioned off and they have all been donated by local businesses. 100 percent of the proceeds will go towards building a new hospital.
There are celebrity items, sports team memorabilia, vacation getaways, gift certificates for golf, restaurants, museums, pet care and spas, as well as gardening, grill and kitchen items, home décor and art. The committee has also added in addition to all the luxury items, a lot more practical items this year including an MP3 Player, wireless phones, housewares, baby items, kids toys, photo albums and cameras.
All Children's Hospital is the only freestanding children's hospital for Florida's West Coast and is a regional referral center for children with some of the most challenging medical problems. Nearly half of the hospital's 219 beds are dedicated to intensive care patients.
All Children's is recognized internationally as an outstanding clinical center in a variety of areas including pediatric cancer, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, transplantation, immunology, cystic fibrosis, neurosurgery, genetics, cleft palate and craniofacial disorders. The hospital also offers out-patient services "closer to home" at several outreach clinics in seven Florida counties.
All Children's has outgrown its current building and is moving forward with plans to build a new state of the art hospital! This year's funds raised are dedicated to the expansion of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit within the new hospital. This expansion will allow All Children's neonatology specialists to care for many more of our community's children.
The All Children's Hospital Guild has a total of eight branches, with more than 630 members. The Guild has underwritten many programs and capital needs for All Children's Hospital. Funds from the Guild activities paid for a special playground for handicapped and hospitalized children, the Emergency Center, NICU Equipment, and a rose and butterfly garden for families and children.
For more information on All Children's 30th Annual Benefit Auction, visit www.achguild.org and look under Pow Wow Auction. You will then be linked to a webpage with a listing all of the items in the Auction, or e-mail to achguild@gmail.com
