A long-running charity fundraiser that got its start in the working community at YVR has an added reason to celebrate this year.
The YVR for Kids event on Aug. 25 is marking its 25th anniversary. During that time the event has raised in the neighbourhood of $4 million for a variety of organizations, most notably Canuck Place, a children’s hospice based in Vancouver.
Wayne Duzita, one of the co-founders of what was originally called the Can-Am Golf For Kids because it invited law enforcement and customs personnel from Canadian and American services at YVR to gather for a round of golf and fundraising dinner, said the event’s longevity is owed to a number of reasons.
One is the sense of camaraderie among the participants, which was heightened through the tragic loss of the daughter of fellow event co-founder Brian Flagel.
Flagel and his wife, Audrey, both worked in Canada Customs at YVR in the early 1990s and their young daughter, Elise, passed away from cancer just prior to one of the early Can-Am events. Since Elise was cared for in her final few months by nurse Brenda Eng, whose vision for a children’s hospice became Canuck Place, it was decided funds raised would be directed there.
“There was a group of around 20 to 25 law enforcement officers at YVR who used to just go and play golf together and raise a couple of thousand dollars,” said Duzita, who was working at the time for International Aviation Terminals, a major developer and manager of aviation infrastructure and facilities at YVR. “And when Brian lost his daughter, they came to me and asked if I could bring the corporate world to Can-Am.”
In the first year the event raised about $40,000. As it grew and expanded to include those outside YVR’s law enforcement community to other workers on Sea Island, the totals rose. At its peak in 2006, it raised $369,000.
“Our commitment was really to submit a one-time memorial cheque to Canuck Place as part of the building program,” Duzita said, adding Canuck Place opened in 1995. “That became 25 years. But the cause — dealing with families of children who are terminally ill — is what it was all about, while we also distribute funds to a number of other charities.”
Flagel said that when the fundraiser got off the ground there was never any thought about how long it might extend.
“I think when we started it we planned on doing it once. That was successful and we did it again and again, and it kept on going,” he said. “We just tried to make it as good as we could each year. And people kept wanting to come back and we kept it going.”
YVR for Kids tees off Aug. 25 at Quilchena Golf and Country Club followed by a fundraising Gala and silent and live auctions at the Sheraton, Vancouver Airport Hotel. For more information about the event, visit online at YVRforKids.com.
