The Group of Five and Friends are shooting for the stars with their next fundraiser.
The Group of Five and Friends Benevolent Society is holding a Christmas fundraiser, where folks can socialize, enjoy light refreshments, purchase beverages at a cash bar and take part in live and silent auctions. The Become a Star fundraiser – which believes everybody is a star when they get involved and support Royal Columbian Hospital – is on Friday, Nov. 16 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Centennial Lodge in Queen’s Park.
“We do at least two fundraisers a year. This is our Christmas themed one,” said Betty McIntosh, the group’s vice president. “We are trying to expand a little bit on this one. We have rented the lodge. There will be light refreshments. We are going to have a live auction.”
Items up for grabs in the live auction include a 43” flat screen TV, a Toronto Blue Jays jersey autographed by Canadian Hall of Fame player Lloyd Moseby, a baseball autographed by retired National Baseball Hall of Fame player Roberto Alomar and an electric cordless lawnmower. Other items in the auctions include a wooden wine rack with 20 bottles of wine and a Justin Morneau package including a photo, limited edition ball cap and an autographed baseball by the New West native.
Become a Star is raising funds to help purchase a tilting wheelchair for Royal Columbian Hospital, which costs about $4,000.
“It’s a high back chair for the Intensive Care Unit. The back of the chair moves. Depending on the position that the patient needs to be in, it can tilt back,” McIntosh said. “We go to the foundation and say, ‘what are the requests from the different wards?’ We go throughout the hospital. In the spring we bought two Dopplers that are these little gizmos they can run along arms and legs to check for blood clots. Again, that was for ICU too.”
The society raises money to buy equipment needed at Royal Columbian Hospital that isn’t funded by Fraser Health. Past purchases have included items for the operating rooms, education department, children’s department, emergency room and children’s play area.
Tickets are $30 and available by calling Betty McIntosh at 604-619-8455 or Gerda Suess at 604-522-7196. If you can’t make it to the event but want to bid on live auction items, you can send bids to [email protected] and put Live Auction Bid in the subject line.
More information is available on the Group of Five and Friends Facebook page.
Save the Date: Friday, Nov. 16
Douglas College is inviting community members to take part in a dialogue that considers the man after which it was named.
Namesake: Reconsidering the histories of James Douglas is taking place on Friday, Nov. 16 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Douglas College, 700 Royal Ave., Room 2201. The event is free.
“Douglas College is named for Sir James Douglas, who is often described in popular histories as the Father of British Columbia. Yet Douglas was also a colonial administrator whose policies did not necessarily represent the interests and concerns of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest,” said a notice about the event. “Douglas College is committed to responding to the calls to action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and we invite you to join us as we explore how we, as a society, approach contested histories and commemorate complex historical figures – including our namesake – as well as how we commemorate the complex, interrelated indigenous and nonindigenous histories of our province.”
Save the date: Nov. 30 and Dec. 1
Century House’s Golden Age Theatre is getting set to present its Christmas production, Does Mrs. Claus Have Menopause?, as well as a series of skits that take a whimsical look at aging through the eyes of several very spunky and bright seniors. Refreshments will be served at the production running on Friday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) and on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 1 p.m. (doors open at 12:30 p.m.) Tickets are $8 for Century House members and $10 for non-members, and can be purchased at the front desk of Century House, 620 Eighth St.
