Annual Applejacks fundraiser to support cancer centre
IT’S TIME TO DUST off your cowboy boots and perhaps pick out an appropriate hat as the Wellesley Applejacks saddle up for their second annual Jacks’n Spurs event on Saturday night.
Such is the advice from Jacks fundraising director Heather Fraser, as the team prepares a party for a good cause. There will be plenty of dancing, says Fraser, who’s one of event’s main organizers, to the country tunes of the band 8 Second Ride.
“They’re amazing!” said Fraser of the band. “And the only reason I say that is because I’ve hired them three times. And they’re locals, which is also important to me.”
There will be games, a silent auction for such prizes as Toronto Maple Leafs tickets and an autographed Kitchener Rangers jersey, amongst others. The Wellesley Meats and Cheese cart will be on the scene while the Jacks have set up a bar meaning there will be plenty of food and drink available for all attendees. It also means that this party is restricted to those 19 and over.
“Meet your neighbours that you don’t know. Catch up with old friends that you do know. Share a laugh. There’s always a new person to meet and that’s a big deal in our community,” she said.
The Jacks’n Spurs will be held at the Wellesley Community Centre Saturday night, instead of the arena.
Another change from last year will see proceeds from Saturday’s event split between the Wellesley Apple Jacks hockey club and the HopeSpring Cancer Support Centre in Waterloo.
Fraser said the Jacks players are keen to support HopeSpring.
“The boys just kind of said, ‘we’ve all been home with parents and family members with cancer and this is a foundation that needs help,’” she explained.
For the HopeSpring Centre, these third-party fundraisers on behalf of the organization are very important, says the centre’s director of operations, Linda Maxwell.
The centre, which is run without government funding and almost entirely on volunteer efforts, depends a lot on the community’s support to continue providing their services.
“We’ve got no government funding at all, so we’re 100 per cent based on community donations,” said Maxwell.
The cancer centre focuses on providing support to people impacted by cancer, whether that’s directly, for those diagnosed with the illness, survivors of cancer and even those experiencing it through their families and friends. The services on offer are completely free, and run from counselling and support groups to nutrition programs, yoga, and even pottery classes.
When HopeSpring announced earlier this year that it would have to close down due to a lack of funding after more than a decade of providing support, the community rallied to keep the place going.
“The cancer patients in this region see this as an essential service for themselves, just as important as their medical treatment,” said Maxwell.
While half of the proceeds from the Jacks’n Spurs will be going towards the HopeSpring, the other half is being put towards the Jacks organization, helping keep the junior team on ice.
Anyone interested in donning their spurs this weekend can call Fraser for tickets at 519-591-3806. The event will be at the Wellesley Community Centre on October 28, starting at 8 p.m.