This Thursday, May 7, the Towne Tavern will be hosting an event to raise money for the Tega Cay Fire Department. It’s being called a welcome home party for Connor McKemey, and begins at 5:30 p.m.

Several sports celebs will be appearing and signing autographs, taking pictures with fans, auctioning off jerseys and helping with raffles. Familiar Carolina football players like Jake Delhomme, Jordon Gross, and Travelle Wharton will be there.

For more information, keep checking the McKemey Strong website.

And in case you missed it, here’s the interview that WCNC Channel 36 did with Connor at Levine Children’s Hospital.

Spring has sprung and the weekends will start to become full of activity! This weekend is no exception. With the weather clearing up, the opportunity is there to spend the entire weekend outdoors! Here are a few local options:

• Blood Drive to Honor Connor McKemey at the Tega Cay Fire Department
• Reverse Mortgage Seminar taking place at Sun City Carolina Lakes in Indian Land
• 4th annual Hensley Farm Bluegrass Festival in Fort Mill
• Easter Musical being performed tonight and tomorrow at Tega Cay Baptist Church

Also, Supper Sensations on Market Street in Baxter is having an official “going out of business” sale tomorrow from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. They are offering deep discounts on both prepared food as well as dishware, small appliances and fixtures.

See our calendar of events page for details on these events, as well as more throughout the month of April! If you have an event you’d like to add to the calendar, email me (jane [at] scoopmill [dot] com) and we’ll get your event on the list!

The Fort Mill Times is reporting that the recent “Coins for Connor” fundraising event at Fort Mill High School netted $5,641 to help Connor McKemey, the Tega Cay teen who suffered major burns in an injury prior to the Christmas holiday this past December. There have been a few “Coins for Connor” fundraisers over the past couple of months, and totals so far reach almost $20,000.

It shows you that any change you carry around – whether it’s one penny or several – can go a long way towards helping someone else!

Connor has already had more than a dozen surgeries since the accident, but is out of the medical-induced coma and is slowly making progress towards recovery.

If you want to assist the McKemey family but don’t know how, consider visiting McKemey Strong, which can tell you how to buy a wristband to support the McKemey family. They are currently being sold at outlets all over Fort Mill and Tega Cay.

If you live in the Fort Mill area, you have no doubt read about 13-year-old Connor McKemey, who suffered third-degree burns over 85 percent of his body in an incident involving an outdoor fireplace at his home in Tega Cay. His mother, Karin, in her attempts to put out the fire, also suffered from burns to her hands and face.

Connor, a student and athlete at Gold Hill Middle School, was honored at a fundraiser held yesterday at Fort Mill High School. The funds raised at the event (organizers are hoping to raise at least $20,000) will go to pay for the various surgeries that will be necessary to repair the damage done by the burns. He faces as many as 30 or more surgeries this year. Connor is an avid lacrosse player, so organizers invited more than 500 players from across the Charlotte area came to Fort Mill to spend the day attending clinics, games and an auction.

Another fundraiser took place last week, organized primarily in Baxter Village but also taking place in other neighborhoods. Residents were given little plastic bags and asked to fill them with “Coins for Connor” which were then collected to add to the fund to help pay for the astronomical medical expenses that the McKemey family is facing.

Connor is continuing to receive medical treatment in Augusta, Georgia and is being kept in a medically-induced coma because the burns were so severe.