Free scholarship informational workshop to be held today

The American Red Cross is issuing an urgent call for blood donors of all blood types, especially type O. Schedule your donation appointment by using the free Blood Donor App, by visiting www.redcrossblood.org or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Help save a life by participating in one of the following American Red Cross blood donation opportunities: 2-7 p.m. today, Grace Baptist Church, 219 W. Calhoun St.; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, Shaw Air Force Base Exchange, 370 Rhodes Ave., Building 1403, Shaw Air Force Base; 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1, YMCA of Sumter, 510 Miller Road; 7 a.m.-noon Wednesday, Oct. 3, Becton Dickinson, 1575 Airport Road; 1-5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8, Health Sciences Center, 133 S. Main St.

Clarendon School District One will conduct free vision, hearing, speech and developmental screenings as part of a child find effort to identify students ages 3-5, who may need special education services and are not enrolled in a public school. Screenings will be conducted from 9 a.m. to noon at the Summerton Early Childhood Center, 8 South St., Summerton, on the following Tuesdays: Oct. 9; Nov. 13; Dec. 11; Jan. 8, 2019; Feb. 12, 2019; March 12, 2019; April 9, 2019; and May 14, 2019. Call Robert Collar at (803) 574-2117.

The Sumter Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina will have a booth inside the Sumter Civic Center at the Sumter County Fair from 4 to 10 p.m. through Friday, Sept. 28, and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29. The chapter will be accepting donations of old eyeglasses and hearing aids for the Sumter Lions Club.

Pace Scholarship Academy will present a free scholarship informational workshop at 5 p.m. today in the auditorium of Sumter High School, 2580 McCrays Mill Road. Sumter County parents and students in grades nine through 12 are encouraged to attend.

A Mesothelioma Awareness Day will be held 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29, at the Canty Center, 627 Manning Ave. This event will feature face painting, a bounce house, games, vendors, food truck and silent auction.

"Celebrating Life in Color," a breast cancer awareness/celebration luau, will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29, at Bernie Elks Lodge, 2501 U.S. 15 South. Tickets: $25 for adults and $10 for children age 3-12. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m. Hawaiian luau attire is welcome. Event will feature Hawaiian style cuisine, entertainment, vendors, door prizes, information on breast cancer and much more. Music will be presented by DJ Al Kelly. Proceeds will support breast cancer awareness. Contact Afrika Taylor at (803) 236-7623 or at altaylor39@yahoo.com.

The Sumter Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9, at Shiloh-Randolph Manor, 125 W. Bartlette St. October is blind awareness month. Contact Debra Canty, chapter president, at (803) 775-5792 or debra.canty@frontier.com.

The Shepherd's Center will hold its annual spaghetti lunch fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12, at Swan Lake Presbyterian Church, 912 Haynsworth St. Cost: $6 per ticket.

The Lee County Branch of the NAACP will meet at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 14, at the Dennis Community Center, 410 W. Cedar Lane, Bishopville. Stan Barnhill, director of the Lee County Registration Office, will speak. Ennis Bryant, chairman of the Lee County Democratic Party, will also speak. The public is encouraged to attend to learn about the changes and procedures to expect in the upcoming November election.

Lake Marion VFW Post 11078, Summerton, will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 1 Duke St., Summerton (behind First Citizens Bank). All VFW members are encouraged to attend. Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by the meeting at 7 p.m. Call Carl A. Farley, commander of the post, at (803) 460-8910.

A fatherhood fall festival, presented by the Midlands Fatherhood Coalition, will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, at 687 N. Guignard Drive. The whole family is encouraged to attend. Event will feature trunk-or-treat, pumpkin carving contest, games, prizes, vendors and more. There will be food and refreshments for sale with proceeds donated to the coalition. There will also be a fright fight video game tournament with prizes awarded to first, second and third place winners for each game. Games include Dragonball Fighterz, Mariokart Deluxe, Madden19 and NBA 2K. Entrance fee for tournament is donation of a non-perishable food item (canned food, pasta, rice, oatmeal, etc.). Registration is limited. Register early by emailing acoston@midlandsfathers.com or call (803) 774-2140.