Two fundraisers are set this weekend to benefit the family of Jackson Hodge, 2, who recently got a liver transplant.
He is the son of Angela and Garrick Hodge of Arnold.
Jackson has progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, a rare inherited condition that causes liver damage. He got a liver transplant on July 23 and is doing well, said Janice Fenton, a volunteer with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, a national charity that helps families raise funds for transplant-related expenses.
Jackson is home recuperating now, Fenton said today (Aug. 21).
COTA has been working with local volunteers to raise funds for the family, to help them defray some of the transplant-related costs.
The volunteers hope to raise at least $75,000 for the Hodges, Fenton said.
Several fundraisers already have been held and others are in the works, including two for this weekend and one in September, she said.
A fundraising barbecue will be held Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Fireplace Bar, 3377 Tree Court Lane, in Valley Park. The barbecue will begin at 2 p.m. and last until the food is gone. Other fundraising activities will continue until the bar closes. A silent auction will be held, and there will be raffles and drawings.
On Sunday, Aug. 23, a benefit car show will be held from 8 a.m. to noon at the Schnucks store parking lot, 3900 Vogel Road, in Arnold. It costs $20 to enter a car in the show. Food will be sold there.
Another fundraiser – a dinner and trivia night – will be held Friday, Sept. 11, at the Andre’s South banquet center, 4254 Telegraph Road, in south St. Louis County. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m., and trivia starting at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $30 a person or $300 for a table of 10.
Jackson is the grandson of Rick Hodge, a retired Fox C-6 School District educator, and the great-grandson of the late Ray Hodge, a former Fox district administrator.