With in-person events still banned due to the pandemic, a Port Coquitlam charity that honours a mother of four killed by a drunk driver will move its fundraiser online for another year.
In lieu of its signature gala at the Hard Rock Casino in Coquitlam, the Charlene Reaveley Children’s Charity Society (CRCCS) will again host an online silent auction, with proceeds supporting B.C. kids who are grieving.
Revealey, a Pinetree secondary graduate and personal trainer, was struck by drunk driver Cory Sater in 2011 while she attended to an accident at the corner of Lougheed Highway and Pitt River Road, in Coquitlam.
Lorraine Cruz also died as a result of the collision while Cruz’s boyfriend was seriously injured.
Shannon Brooks, the charity’s director who knew Reaveley and is now married to her former husband, Dan Reaveley, told the Tri-City News the CRCCS “has been a lifeline for children who have lost their parent and/or sibling” by providing counselling, camp funding, bursaries for graduating students, a lending library and toy drive, among other services, to more than 300 families around the province.
And the need is even greater during the COVID-19 lockdown, she said, as families struggle with coping with the loss of a loved one as well as the mental health stresses from the pandemic.
AUCTION PRIZES
For its 10th annual fundraiser, the CRCCS hopes to raise more than $30,000 through its virtual auction that runs from April 7 to 18. So far, some of the 150 items up for grabs include:
• Whistler and Manning Park get-aways
• rounds of golf in Pitt Meadows and at Westwood Plateau
• original art
• flowers for six months
• jewellery and wine
Brooks said more donations are sought to meet the fundraising target.
To contribute as a sponsor, email info@crccs.ca. For more details about the charity, go to crccs.ca, or the Facebook page for the Charlene Reaveley Children’s Charity.
