ESTEVAN - A fundraiser for Estevan's Amanda Minchin surpassed all expectations.
The event, held March 15 at the Wylie-Mitchell building, attracted an estimated 475 people. Estevan Deputy Fire Chief Kyle Luc, who was one of the organizers for the benefit, said the initial estimate is it raised more than $100,000 to help Minchin financially as she continues to battle medical issues. They won't know for certain how much money it brought in for a few more days, as they still have some bills to pay.
"We didn't expect to have what we had," Luc said in an interview with SaskToday. "It was unreal to see the support of the community and everyone came together. So, we're happy with the outcome and we can't thank everyone enough."
The event featured a supper, raffle, 50/50 draw, and silent and live auctions; the latter was conducted by Mack Auction Company.
"It was great to see all of the people out there bidding and buying these items that had been donated to us in support of Amanda. We raised $60,000 on the live auction alone," said Luc.
The Estevan Wildcats hockey team, which Minchin plays for, sold drink tickets. Many people who couldn't make it made cash donations.
Luc said when plans for the benefit first started, he would have been "blown away" to make $50,000. The event was initially slated to happen at the Beefeater Plaza but tickets sold out in an hour, so they switched to the larger Wylie-Mitchell hall. The extra tickets sold out within 24 hours.
"To see what came of this afterwards and the support of this community is absolutely amazing," said Luc.
He noted Minchin was able to attend the event.
Luc, his wife Jenna, and EFRS members Brandon Frank and Tyler Stead took the lead on organizing the event. A lot of the other members from the Estevan Firefighters Association helped with the work behind the scenes, the cleanup and other tasks.
Kyle Luc said they wanted to host this event for Minchin because she is one of Estevan's paid, on-call firefighters and "they're like a big family".
"We thought in her time of need, it would be best to do something for her to help get her through this time, so myself and a couple of the other officers decided we would plan the event," said Luc.
He believes the immense support shown for the fundraiser reflects the impact that Minchin has had on the community. Not only is she part of the EFRS, but she has been the head professional and general manager at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Course for years and is passionate about the junior golf program. She has also been part of a number of boards in the community.
"She's just one of those people that's always out in the community, and it was definitely shown when you showed up at the fundraiser and saw everybody [who came to] support it."
