Community support and donations poured in at a fundraising event for a local family who lost three of their loved ones in a tragic accident in December.
Close to 1,000 people dropped by to participate in part or all of the Waugh/Allan Eagles Alumni Charity Game and fundraiser at the Innisfail arena on Friday, Feb. 18.
Jaimie Waugh was the lone survivor of the accident that claimed the lives of her husband James ‘Roddy’ Allan, and her brother and sister-in-law Darrin and Jennifer Waugh. The couple’s vehicle plunged into Spray Lakes Reservoir on Dec. 30 but Jaimie was pulled free from the accident by a passerby.
The proceeds from the fundraiser are going towards helping to support Jaimie and her two sons Rylen, 11, and Oliver, 2.
The community response to the event surpassed all expectations of the organizing committee, said Angela Brownson, one of the committee members, who noted that the event was a great success.
Organizers declined to release the total amount of money raised at the event by request of the family.
However, the committee had a goal of $20,000 and the total amount far exceeded that, said Mike Bennett, one of the committee members and a member of the Innisfail Eagles.
The fundraiser went from initially being just a charity hockey game to including a skills competition by Innisfail Minor Hockey, a silent and live auction and beef on a bun.
“When we got the committee together everyone just kept coming up with different ideas,” said Kim Tibble, one of Jaimie Waugh’s best friends and one of the organizing committee members.
“The family has deep roots in the community so we did what we needed to do to help them out.”
John Waugh, Jaimie’s father, was a big part of the Eagles both as a player and as a coach in the past, and many of the alumni players were men who had played with John.
There were 44 Eagles that played in the charity game but at least another 80 that showed up to support the event, said Bennett. The players all wore a No. 19 on the front of their jerseys for Darrin who was No. 19 when he played Junior B hockey in Innisfail.
Over 90 silent auction items were donated with some of the bids reaching close to $1,000. A live auction was held during breaks in the game and some of the items auctioned off included tickets to the World Juniors, Calgary Flames tickets with a limousine ride to the game, a signed Team Canada Neidemeyer captain’s jersey, and a Red Deer Rebels Box for the first game of the playoffs which went for $2,600.
The two tickets to the World Juniors game were bought by the black alumni team and were presented as a gift to John Waugh.
“The whole committee is so proud of the people of Innisfail, everyone has been really supportive,” said Brownson on the night of the event.
