The Sand Dollar Social Club hosts its 17th annual Toys For Tots fundraiser on Sunday, Dec. 7
by Miranda Steadman | Contributing Writer
As the Christmas season approaches each year, The Sand Dollar Social Club on Folly Beach gets in the giving spirit by hosting a heartfelt fundraiser for Toys for Tots, the Marine Corps Reserve charity dedicated to collecting and delivering toys to children. This year, the 17th annual event will be held on Sunday, Dec. 7.
“We usually raise over $20,000 every year, and the last few years have been very strong,” said Skipper Weatherford, who owns The Sand Dollar along with his siblings. This year, The Sand Dollar celebrated its 50th year in business.
“I’ve been running around here since I was 5 and working here since I was 17,” Weatherford recalls. “I grew up on James Island back when all the roads were still dirt and there was only one grocery store.”
Weatherford’s father, Richard E. Weatherford Sr., opened The Sand Dollar on Sept. 15, 1975, making this year’s it’s 50th Anniversary. According to Weatherford, his father ran the business until about the last five or six years of his life, before he started having health problems.
Richard Weatherford Sr. was a Charleston County sheriff’s deputy before he opened The Sand Dollar in 1975. After kicking throat cancer, he went on to participate in his first Ironman competition at the age of 60 and even went on to compete nationally. He passed away two-and-a-half years ago. Now Weatherford and his siblings own The Sand Dollar together.
Weatherford remembers that after a 1988 fire, the entire Folly community came together to help The Sand Dollar reopen in just 28 days. The next year, the Atlantic Ocean
overtook the bar when Hurricane Hugo ravaged the South Carolina Coast. Once again, The Dollar was closed for less than a month thanks to the generous help of local bar patrons. With a goal to give back, Weatherford first welcomed Toys for Tots to The Sand Dollar in 2008.
“We’re helping Marines help kids … what better cause is there?” says Weatherford
This past year’s Toys for Tots was one of the toughest because of a focus on relief efforts following Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. Weatherford recalls one Marine standing onstage talking about taking the children of a disabled veteran shopping while their power was off, so they could get what they wanted for Christmas. Instead of toys, the kids wanted to buy simple necessities like socks, underwear, and clothes for each other.
“The community really stands behind us and steps up every year,” said Weatherford. Many Marines travel up from Beaufort to help load toys onto the truck of donations that’s parked outside The Sand Dollar on Center Street. Toys for Tots guests are asked to donate either $10 or a new, unwrapped toy to local families.
Each year, Swig & Swine graciously donates food for the event. Anthony DiBernardo, who owns the string of popular barbecue restaurants, was once the head chef at Rita’s Seaside Grill across the street from The Sand Dollar. He now frequently cooks free meals for families staying at The Ronald McDonald House downtown and a host of other charity events. A veteran himself, the Marine Corp’s Toys For Tots drive is something close to his heart.
Other sponsors of Toys for Tots this year include Elizabeth Baker, a local real estate agent and former Marine, Forsberg Fine Wine and Spirits, Elite Roofing, RNDC, H.J. Lee, Cahill Contracting, Island Golf Cart Rental of Folly Beach, Southern Crown Partners, Fat Cat Productions, McCutcheon Customs and Mike’s Bikes, who donated a beach cruiser to be raffled off.
Local band Bad Santa will open the event with Christmas music starting at 4 p.m. Pluff Mudd starts their set at 5 p.m., followed by Dan & The Donuts at 6 p.m. Local favorites Headrush will reunite to play their old stomping grounds at 7 p.m. The night will close with the Casual Suspects performing at 8 p.m. Prizes will be announced in between bands’ sets. Each of the musicians mentioned above is donating their talent to the cause.
The 17th annual Toys for Tots fundraiser will be held Sunday, Dec. 7. Raffle tickets are $2 each or 3 for $5. Donations will be accepted until the party ends. The Sand Dollar Social Club is located at 7 Center St.
