News
ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, can affect anyone. Unfortunately it has touched one of our dearest Eastbourne friends. A fundraiser called 'The ALS Adventure Challenge' was held at Alice Lake this summer which raised approximately $115,000 for research into a cure for ALS. This event was organized by Lisa Nilsson and Dave Richardson and their team. Feeling there would be many Keats Islanders who wanted to participate in the Alice Lake event but were unable to, Keats cottager Danny Shanks conceived the 'Keats Island ALS Fundraising Evening' as a means for Islanders to show their support and generosity for the ALS cause. He visualized the event as "a fundraising sing-a-long with the people of Keats." Thus Danny and a group of his friends banded together to sort out the details of how an enjoyable fundraiser could materialize.
The resulting evening was awesome! The entire community jumped in to make it happen. An estimated 200 islanders attended to enjoy the food, music and good company of others. As several people commented, the many children present created a particularly pleasant and family atmosphere. The youngsters enjoyed special door prizes and silent auction events and 'The Twins' even enjoyed leading their rendition of Yellow Submarine on stage.
And what could be more fulfilling than listening to Danny's great singing and guitar playing while observing the fun and beautiful view of Collingwood Channel, and on top of that, supporting an important cause? Requests were played throughout the entire evening. The Weekend's Mine, one of numerous songs Danny has written specifically about his fondness of Keats Island was a special crowd pleaser. The request donation box was full by evening's end. Thank you to those who gave generously and to those who simply relaxed and enjoyed the music. We also thankfully appreciate everyone who enhanced the evening by accompanying Danny or performing individually. It was totally clear that great talent exists right here on Keats.
The silent auctions were a huge success and generated $2,323 for ALS research. We extend sincere thanks to the many individuals and companies that donated items for auction. Almost all donations were unsolicited and they truly demonstrate the close-knit and supportive island community we have. The record single-item bid was a whopping $450. This was generated by a Rose Ann Janzen painting. (Rose Ann is a former Eastbourne cottager now residing on the Sunshine Coast.) This lovely painting was won by Tony Flynn after a serious and exciting bid-off with Susan Youl. The bidding dual prompted several re-evaluations of the art piece as well as much deep thought and tense anticipation between bids. In the end, Tony's pockets were the deepest! The bake sale also generated significant support. Thank you to the great community chefs for the tasty cookies, cakes and pies.
Net proceeds for the evening tallied to more than $3,800! Not bad at all for a small community. The money will be given to the Nilsson Foundation. This foundation has been formed to support research into ALS and to provide local patient services for those who suffer from the disease. It is a registered federal charity. The Foundation will then donate all the proceeds to the ALS Society of BC and the Vancouver Coastal Health ALS Clinic.
The Keats Island ALS Fundraising Evening would not have happened without the strong input many people provided. Our sincere thanks go to everyone who helped. Special appreciation is extended to Lisa Nilsson and Dave Richardson for their help in staging the evening, providing many of the auction items and promoting awareness of ALS. Thanks also to Bob and Kelly Gibney for donating their property as a venue for the event. This gesture is appreciated by the entire community.