A fundraiser held by Southeast Cancer Support Services' (SCSS) was a huge success.
There was quite a bit of excitement for the Hope in Heels fashion show and gala ahead of time, with tickets selling out quickly—that energy seemed to charge the event Thursday evening.
"It was just an amazing experience to be in the new venue (Southeast Event Centre) with over 450 people who just gathered as a community to celebrate hope," says Cindi Rempel Patrick with SCSS.
"Anytime you gather as a community, there's hope because people are supporting each other. I think that's very powerful," she adds.
The evening began with a reception in the Southeast Event Centre's (SEC) atrium, before attendees made their way to the ice surface for the fashion show and remainder of the evening.
Rempel Patrick says the models were all people who had been touched by cancer in a way, whether they have cancer, are a survivor, health care provider, businesses supporting those with cancer in some way, or the family, friends or caregivers of people with cancer.
Each of these people shared their story, which Rempel Patrick says was the highlight of the evening.
"The fact that those survivors were up there yesterday is really about hope," she says, adding models ranges from just two years old to 84, and represented a wide range of stories and experiences.
There was also a host of prizes that were auctioned off during the event—some worth up to $2,500.
It's the largest auction of its kind that Rempel Patrick says she's been a part of.
"This just shows how the southeast responds to taking care of their people," she says. "People were so generous. There were over 90 businesses that donated... No one said no. Everybody gave something."
Many others contributed financially through alternative means, including online donations.
Rempel Patrick says the gala was the first event to be held in the SEC.
She notes the crew did an amazing job setting everything up and preparing the ice surface to accommodate the fundraiser and its attendees.
The atrium was also stunning, she says.
"That's just beautiful. The ambience in there with the big wood beams, and all the windows and the steel staircase, and just all the openness also allowed for a lot of people to enjoy appetizers and wine, and all the activities that happened during the reception," she says, adding people appeared to love it.
Written with files from Corny Rempel