By Jim Timlick
The night of Friday, Nov. 8 is shaping up to be an evening to remember for Epic Opportunities and our supporters.
That’s when we will host the ninth annual An Evening With Epic fundraising event. This year’s event will take place at the Best Western Plus Winnipeg Airport Hotel beginning at 7 p.m.
An Evening With Epic is our Epic Opportunities Foundation’s biggest fundraising event of the year. All proceeds from the evening will be used to help the foundation make a down payment on a new accessible home for individuals living with an intellectual disability.
Executive Director Ruby Reimer says the event has enjoyed excellent growth in donor support over the past few years. As a result, the Foundation has provided two full down payments to build or purchase accessible homes during the past two years.
Later this year, three women who critically require accessible accommodations will move into a new home in Amber Trails that was purchased by Epic Opportunities. Reimer says public support for An Evening With Epic played a critical role in making such a story possible.
“The ongoing costs of mortgage payments and other essential services are covered through funding from Community Living disAbility Services (CLDS) or the province. But we need the public’s help to raise funds for the down payment to make all of that possible,” she says.
“We hope people will help us reach this goal again and make a remarkable difference in the lives of people who require our support to live rich and fully inclusive lives in our communities.”
This year’s An Evening With Epic will have a slightly different feel than past events.
Guests will be entertained by local jazz musicians Brian Paul and Rena Semenko. Paul is a keyboardist and singer who has performed with the likes of Tom Jackson, Ray St. Germaine, Cindy Caine and the Alley Catz. Semenko is a singer/songwriter who also plays piano and guitar. She has performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Juno award-winning band Eagle and Hawk and took part in the New Orleans Jazz Festival earlier this year.
This year’s fundraiser will also feature some familiar fixtures from years past. A huge prize raffle will once again be part of the evening. Tickets will be sold for $5 apiece and the goal is sell a total of 2,000 tickets. As in past years, guests will also be able to take part in a 50/50 draw, a silent auction and a rainbow auction.
Ralph Guy, a director with the Epic Opportunities Foundation’s board, says the two recently purchased homes are just the start of an ambitious plan for the foundation. As part of the Make a House a Home Campaign, it has set a goal of providing down payments for 10 houses for Epic Opportunities over a five-year period.
“We’re proud of having provided down payments on those two houses and we take pride in the fact we know we’re on the right path. But we have unfinished work to do. I don’t think the real satisfaction will come until we accomplish what we’ve set out to do,” he says.
“We’ve had some terrific support through fundraising and donations. But we need to grow those. That’s where we’re focused right now.”
Tickets for An Evening With Epic are $30 each which includes a draw ticket for a special door prize. Tickets can be purchased by calling our office at (204) 560-2804 or by emailing us at info@epicmb.ca.
