Community members continue to rally around the family of five-year-old Jaedyn Amann, who died when an unsecured soccer net fell and struck her on the back of the head July 4 in Watson Lake, Yukon.
This Saturday, a garage sale and bake sale will be held at the Bethel Tabernacle on Fourth Avenue in Ladysmith, starting at 9 a.m. A beer and burger night will follow July 31 at the Eagles Hall.
Funds raised will be donated to Amann’s family to offset funeral costs and other expenses.
“We didn’t want them to have to worry about financial aspects on top of everything else that they have to deal with,” said Jenn Byrne, one of the organizers. “You never think you’re going to bury your child. There’s a lot of costs involved.”
Byrne and fellow organizer Necole Young say the response over the past two weeks has been nothing short of amazing.
“People that don’t even know them have been willing to help and put in a lot of work,” Byrne said. “We’ve had a huge amount of people drop off donations. My sister’s double garage is full, so we’re spilling over to mine.”
Young said her phone has been ringing off the hook as volunteers and family friends gather together sale items and take donations from the public.
One volunteer was taken aback when a representative from the Spartans ball team showed up on her doorstep to present a $1,000 cash donation — winnings from the team’s last tournament.
“It was supposed to be just a small little garage sale, and the community has banded together and turned it into something much more,” said Young.
The beer and burger night July 31 at the Eagles Hall will start at 5 p.m., with dinner to follow at 6 p.m. A silent auction will follow, with the final bids being taken by 10 p.m. More than half of the available tickets were sold a day after they were printed, but there will still be a few available at the door, Young said.
“We have some amazing fundraiser silent auction items; we have things from Grant Jewellers, Tofino Air ... Uforik Computers gave us a $1,200 laptop package,” Young said.
People can still drop off garage sale donations at 621 Walkem Rd. (ask for Tracey), and there are still about 100 beer and burger night tickets available for $15. To secure your ticket, call Necole Young at 250-618-8344.
A trust fund for the Amann-Hicks family has also been set up at the Island Savings at Coronation Mall.
A Facebook page has been set up for the fundraiser. To access it, click here.