On Friday, May 4, the Children’s Heart Network held its 16th Annual Wine Gala Dinner at the Villa Amato Ballroom in Vancouver. Over 230 guests enjoyed a fabulous four-course dinner with wine pairings and both live and silent auctions. It was CHN’s premier fundraising event of the year.
The evening started with a glass of Evolve Effervescence and canapés while guests admired the beautifully decorated room and perused the silent auction items.
This room was buzzing! Our emcee for the evening was Vancouver’s veteran broadcaster, sports, and news anchor Jody Vance, who welcomed the crowd and steered the evening through riveting, thought-provoking presentations. Lisa Lalsingh shared her family’s commitment to supporting heart kids and families in getting to camp through Mila’s Fund, a very special fund in memory of their heart angel Mila. We were then enlightened as teen Mina Shahsavar shared her heart journey and how she overcame many challenges with the help of her cardiac team and the CHN. She spoke of how the Children’s Heart Network has supported her along the way as she developed lifelong friendships during fun monthly events and that each year camp is a highlight as these friends reconnect. Mina is now devoted to studying to become a part of the cardiac team at BC Children’s Hospital — a true inspiration, follow your dreams!
The evening culminated with CBC’s Man about Town, Fred Lee, as our auctioneer, who entertained us with both his wit and his heartfelt enthusiasm. Sending more heart kids to camp was one of CHN’s goals this year, and thanks to Fred’s energy and the generosity of our guests, we collected donations of almost $20,000 to benefit our kids heading to Camp Zajac this summer. In total, we raised over $80,000 to support all of our CHN programs! Children’s Heart Network families will benefit greatly thanks to the generous support of all our attendees, supportive corporate sponsors, and auction donors. A huge “Heart-Felt” thank you to all of our volunteers, guests, donors, and the following major sponsors:
- Dean Alexander
- The Pediatric Cardiology Associates
- Dr Brian Sinclair
- Hayward Sheppard Barristers & Solicitors
- Air Canada
- Evolution Wine
- Colby Red Wine
- A & B Party Rentals
- Cindy Thaler
- Medtronic
Next year’s gala is already booked: mark your calendar for Friday, May 3, 2018!
To become a corporate sponsor or to donate to the auction, please email Samantha Aitken.
“Wine Gala Wrap-up: A Record Year — More Than $80,000 raised” is from our Summer 2018 newsletter, Heart Matters. See our Newsletters page for more stories and to subscribe.