Fundraising gala
Shannon LeClair – Times Reporter
Boston Pizza held their first annual fashion show to raise awareness and money for the women’s shelter on Wed. April 28.
Laurie Shannon, general manager of Boston Pizza wanted to help the shelter by raising money for them.
Together with her staff, she created the idea of the Boston Pizza fundraising gala, and invited local talent and businesses to partake in it.
“Everyone has really jumped on board. The staff that are attending, including myself, will actually purchase tickets to go to our own event, to make sure we’re raising as much as we can,” said Shannon.
Tickets were on sale for $20 each, with all of the proceeds going directly to the shelter. The show started at 7 p.m. and there were 45 people in attendance.
The local sponsors were Warehouse One, Reitmans, Ripperz, Ardene and Home Hardware.
The event raised $900 for the Wheatland shelter. The shelter has been open for 17 years and last year alone they helped 174 adults and 133 children.
Graydon Pease was the MC for the night and Jordon Olstrom provided the entertainment.
Karen Pease, executive director for the Community Crisis Society was pleased when she heard what Shannon was planning to do for them.
“To pick our shelter to showcase and do something special for, we are very grateful. We were also impressed with the local talent, I thought that was excellent, and the businesses, all the work that the vendors did.”
Businesses like Mary Kay, Party Light and a few others donated a portion of their earnings to the shelter.
“A fashion show is no easy task to organize, and I was really impressed with the quality and effort that the local businesses put into it,” said Karen.