The annual "Giving Hope to Kids Miracle Auction" at Hope College has been scheduled for Friday, Jan. 19, in correlation with Dance Marathon's effort to raise support for DeVos Children's Hospital.

The annual "Giving Hope to Kids Miracle Auction" at Hope College has been scheduled for Friday, Jan. 19, in correlation with Dance Marathon's effort to raise support for DeVos Children's Hospital.

Held in the auditorium of the Maas Center, the event will begin at 7:30 p.m. with hors d'oeuvres and viewing of the items, with the actual bidding beginning at 8 p.m.

The "Giving Hope to Kids Miracle Auction" will include home furnishings, jewelry, collectibles, home entertainment items such as a foosball table and pool table, and gift certificates contributed by local businesses, organizations and individuals.

In addition, there will also be a raffle for an Electra Townie bicycle, with tickets sold during both the auction and the Hope men's basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 20, at the DeVos Fieldhouse. The winner of the raffle will be announced during the game's halftime break. The winner does not need to be present.

The Hope College Dance Marathon, which will be held on Friday and Saturday, March 9-10, is a philanthropic event that benefits the DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids. As the only children's hospital in Western Michigan, DeVos Children's Hospital is dedicated to providing comprehensive care to children. It serves as a referral center for newborns, infants, children, and adolescents throughout the state. Nearly 110,000 visits are made to DeVos Children's Hospital annually, including more than 7,000 admissions and more than 100,000 outpatient visits.

In order to help support the vast number of ailing children that visit the hospital each year, all proceeds from the auction will go directly towards the funding of special programs that are designed to make the young patients' visits to the hospital more bearable while also helping the families of the children to deal with their illnesses.

Dance Marathon is organized by Hope students, and since beginning in 2000 has raised more than $481,000 for DeVos Children's Hospital, including $112,670.89 last year.

The Maas Center is located on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street.