Supporters of the Epic Opportunities Foundation gathered Nov. 5 to celebrate the achievements of the past year and rally support for the year ahead.
A large crowd of family, friends and corporate supporters gathered on Nov. 5 at the Viscount Gort Hotel as part of the fifth annual Epic Opportunities Foundation fundraiser.
This year’s An Evening With Epic event attracted a record gathering of 223 guests. All proceeds from the evening will be used to provide accessible housing for people living with intellectual disabilities and fund other capital projects not covered by government grants.
Executive director Ruby Reimer says it is gratifying to see the level of interest in the event continue to grow among family and friends of people supported by Epic Opportunities as well as the organization’s community and business partners.
“I think we have a built a strong foundation of support over the years and people are starting to see the event as a fun place for friends and family to come together and contribute to a shared cause,” Reimer says.
“It’s really an excellent cause and people know the money being raised will enhance the lives of the people we support.”
Attendance wasn’t the only figure to show a significant increase at this year’s fundraiser. Preliminary estimates project total revenues of about $31,715, an increase of 27.2 per cent from the previous year. In addition, corporate sponsorship rose to $18,455, an increase of 26.7 per cent from a year ago.
Reimer says the growth in revenues can be attributed to continued efforts to build and enhance An Evening With Epic.
One of the highlights of this year’s event was the presentation of a video featuring Shannon, one of three ladies who live in Epic Opportunities’ newest home in south Winnipeg. Shannon provides a tour of her home in the video and discusses the impact it has had on her life. The house is the first one built from scratch on behalf of Epic Opportunities.
Another highpoint of the evening was a side-splitting performance by comedian Leland Klassen. Klassen joked about everything from his prairie roots and allegiance to the Saskatchewan Roughriders to his exceptionally large hands.
“I loved to finger paint as a kid,” he told the crowd. “I still like to finger paint. I just painted the garage last week.”
Former radio personality Caroline Hunter served as the emcee for this year’s fundraiser and drew praise for her ability to engage those in attendance and keep the event on schedule.
This year was the first time An Evening With Epic was hosted at the Viscount Gort and Reimer says the organization was pleased with the positive feedback it received regarding the venue and its staff.
Planning for next year’s event has already begun, according to Reimer, and the hope is that the organization will be able to maintain the necessary support to allow it to continue to grow.
“We have a solid foundation of support for the event and we want to continue to build on that,” she says.
Epic Opportunities would like to thanks all of our corporate partners for their support of this year’s An Evening With Epic fundraiser.
Platinum
Highroad
Silver
ChangeMakers
Derksen Plumbing & Heating
IBEX Payroll
MacDon
Mercier & Associates
Tache Pharmacy
Taylor McCaffrey LLP
Viscount Gort
Waverley Chrysler Dodge Jeep
Bronze
Assiniboine Credit Union
BDO Canada
Maximum Realty Ltd.
Carlyle Printers, Service & Supplies Ltd.
Motivating Sound
