Fundraiser for victims of Lytton wildfire
You can help residents of the fire-devastated Fraser River town of Lytton by attending a fundraising dinner at the Union Club Aug. 4, with CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie as a guest speaker. The topic of Ambrosie’s speech is In the Face of Adversity.
Tickets for the event, which includes a three-course dinner prepared by Union Club chefs, are $150 each, and attendees will receive a tax receipt for $115.
Ambrosie suffered multiple football injuries while playing for the Calgary Stampeders, the Toronto Argonauts and the Edmonton Eskimos, with whom he won a Grey Cup. He is now the head of the CFL, which has had its share of trials through the pandemic.
Ambrosie has agreed to autograph pieces that will be auctioned off during the fundraiser.
The event is limited to 100 people, with tables of 10. It starts at 6 p.m. with a happy hour and dinner at 7 p.m.
Those who can’t attend but want to support the fundraiser are encouraged to donate a ticket.
• For tickets, contact the Union Club at 250-384-1151 or reservations@unionclub.com.
Donating lumber to Lytton
Forestry company Teal Jones is donating 500,000 board feet of lumber to help rebuild Lytton and its First Nation community, Nlaka’pamux Nation.
The lumber should be enough to rebuild 50 homes and buildings in the community, which was mostly destroyed by fire at the end of June.
“Teal Jones has felt the impact of traumatic fire events, but we were able to get back on solid footing with the help from the forestry community in British Columbia,” said Jack Gardner, great-grandson of Teal Jones’ founder and a spokesperson for the family-owned company. “We feel terrible for the people of Lytton and Lytton First Nation affected by this fire, and want to pay that past assistance forward. We encourage other forestry businesses to join us in the rebuilding of these resource-dependent communities.”
The company is reaching out to the Nlaka’pamux Nation Tribal Council, the municipal government, regional district and province to co-ordinate the donation, ensuring it goes when and where it’s most needed.
Teal Jones is also planning to contact community organizations about supporting rebuilding in the communities.
The Surrey-based firm is B.C.’s largest privately owned coastal forestry company. It has been the target of protests against old-growth logging near Port Renfrew for most of the last year.
Book Bash! challenges readers
The Victoria Literary Connection is hosting Book Bash!, an annual reading challenge that lets people justify reading yet another murder mystery in a hammock rather than getting on with practical matters in August.
The Book Bash challenges readers of all ages to obtain pledges from friends and family for every 100 pages they read from Aug. 1 to 31.
Participants are invited to set a reading target, pick a theme (or not) and take part in the challenges and event buzz on social media. Prizes will be awarded for the most reading in four age categories and randomly to those who donate their pledges in September.
Your help will support the group’s free literacy programs for children, youth and adults in Greater Victoria. • Go to victorialiteracy connection.ca/vlc-book-bash/ to register and download the pledge form and reading log.
Gorge derby is Rubber Ducky
The Gorge Swim Fest Society and the Rotary Club of Sidney are partnering up for their first Rubber Ducky Derby on the Gorge Waterway, set for Aug. 7.
People can purchase tickets to “sponsor” one or more ducks. On the day of the race, 4,000 yellow rubber ducks will be dropped off the Craigflower Bridge (Admirals Street) into the Gorge Waterway, where they will float 200 metres downstream to a pre-determined finish line.
The first three ducks over the finish line will win cash prizes of $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 for their sponsors.
Proceeds from the event will support the Gorge Swim Fest Society’s work to upgrade and sustain the health of the Gorge Waterway, as well as other Rotary projects.
Raffle tickets are $10. Sales deadline is noon on Aug. 7, with the ducks set to be released at slack tide — around 2 p.m.
• For more information and to buy tickets, go to rubberduckyderby.net.
Donations help kids with school supplies
Provide a child with the supplies they need for success by donating $30 to the Mustard Seed’s Fair Start for Kids program.
Returning to school in September can be exciting for kids, but it can also put financial stress on some families, with parents struggling to provide children with the supplies, clothing, and other gear needed for the coming school year.
The goal of the Mustard Seed’s Fair Start for Kids program is to help families so that no child has to return to school at a disadvantage due to lack of financial means.
This year, the social agency, with the help of Island office-supply company Monk Office, plans to distribute more than 500 school-supply kits, more than 300 pairs of shoes and about 100 backpacks to families across the region.
A donation of $30 will equip one child with a school kit.
Families in need can register to receive a back-to-school kit for students from kindergarten to Grade 12. The kits will be distributed in late August.
For more information, to donate or to register, go to mustardseed.ca.
Poinsettias in July?
The Victoria General Hospital Auxiliary is starting to order plants for this holiday season. The order deadline is Nov. 16, with plant pick-up at the end of November.
• For more information, go to shop.vgha.ca.
parrais@timescolonist.com
