Two fun events will raise money for Kootenay Child Development Centre in July.
The first, the Tee Off For Kootenay Kids Golf Gala, will be held at St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino on Thursday, July 11 and Friday, July 12.
"This is a two-day event," said Patricia Whalen, fundraising coordinator at Kootenay Child Development Centre. "Thursday, July 11 will be a welcome reception and early registration. Friday, July 12 will be the golf tournament all day. That night will be a dinner and dance with a DJ."
The highlight of the tournament is the fantastic prizes up for grabs with a hole in one, and great items in the silent auction on Friday night.
"Oh my gosh, we have some amazing prizes. Thanks so much for the support from the community," said Whalen.
The hole in one prizes include $50,000 cash (sponsored by Al Dyck of Sunlife Financial), a car (sponsored by Spring Honda), a quad (sponsored by All Seasons and Peak Performance), a $10,000 appliance shopping spree (sponsored by Willow Appliances), and a hot tub (sponsored by Beachcomber).
“Then we have some really great silent auction prizes. We have a couple of trips – one to the coast for a golf getaway, and one to the Columbia Valley, and a trip to Italy as well,” said Whalen.
The idea for the tournament came about when a mother, Michelle Shmilt-Doll, whose child visits Kootenay Child Development Centre, offered to step in and help organize an event.
“All of a sudden she said, ‘I want to do a golf tournament fundraiser for you.’ I mean, that’s your dream as a fund-raiser, to have someone come to you and say, ‘I will do this for you and you will benefit,’” said Whalen.
The Friday evening dinner will be a special event due to Michelle’s skills.
“Michelle as an interior designer has such a talent for putting on a high level event. You can expect the dining and dance set-up to be very classy,” said Whalen.
The golf tournament package is $250 – and Whalen said it’s worth every penny.
“I know some people might think $250 is high, but with that you get an opportunity for some wonderful prizes, you have your evening events, your golf tournament (green fees and cart are included), and we are giving out goodie bags valued at $100.”
For more information, visit www.teeoffcharitygolf.com.
Then the following weekend, another big event will be held in Cranbrook in aid of Kootenay Child Development Centre.
The Brothers Insurance Agency Charity Car Show, previously known as Mopars in the Mountains, will be held at Western Financial Place on Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20.
It’s the second year that the child development centre has taken over organizing the event, and it continues to grow.
“Each year we are going to build and make it more exciting so that it becomes one of those events that everyone puts on their calendar a year ahead,” said Whalen.
The activities kick off on Friday evening when vehicle registration begins at Brothers Insurance.
Then, at 6 p.m., the Junk in Your Trunk Swap Meet will be held in the parking lot at Western Financial Place.
“People can get a table and sell anything automotive related, whether it’s an engine, sideview mirrors, tires...” explained Whalen.
Later Friday night, a family-friendly movie will be broadcast on a big screen at Moir Park for a drive-in movie night.
“It’s such a fun time. And this screen is drive-in movie size. It’s huge. People get to listen to the movie through their radio stations, not like in the old days with those big godawful mounted things,” said Whalen.
Gates open for the drive-in at 9 p.m., with the movie set to start about 9:45 p.m., once it gets dark enough.
The main event for the car show will be held throughout the day on Saturday, July 20. Car enthusiasts will flock from all over western Canada and the U.S. to show off their fancy rides in the Western Financial Place parking lot.
“There are some amazing cars that come out. Last year we had at least 115 vehicles. We are hoping we can close to double that this year, including motorbikes as well,” said Whalen.
There will be food and merchandise vendors, businesses, local clubs and kids activities at the event, as well as a special musical act.
“A big exciting part of the event is that we are bringing in the Blue Brothers Too tribute act. That will be quite exciting. They’ll put on quite a show for us. They will be here all day on Saturday, July 20. They will entertain all car-show goers,” said Whalen.
Awards will be given out to car enthusiasts.
“One that I’m really excited about is the family award – best father/son, father/daughter project. I thought it was important to add that category because that’s what our charity is all about,” said Whalen.
In fact, the whole car show is aimed to be a family-friendly event.
“That’s what our charity is all about. We also want to include the whole community because they have been so gracious to us in our years of fundraising. This is a way we can give back to the community by offering this wonderful event to bring their kids to,” said Whalen.
For more information, visit www.brothersinsurancecarshow.ca.
Both these big events are fundraisers for the Kootenay Child Development Centre, which provides support and services for East Kootenay children.
The centre opened its doors last year after a massive fundraising campaign to raise money for construction. These events will go towards capital and ongoing expenses for the centre.
“As we complete our capital part of the fundraising, we are still short approximately $50,000. This event and the golf tournament will go towards completing the capital project. Then we will work on building up our programs and services and get to the point where all of our non-profit tenants can be rent-free. Then they can take that rent and put it towards their program, whether it’s hiring more staff or buying more equipment. That’s our dream, to be able to have no mortgage on the building and all of our nonprofits rent free,” said Whalen.