The Charity Gala
Since 1989, The Mariposa School of Skating has hosted an annual Charity Gala, usually held at the Barrie Molson Center in Barrie, Ontario. This event is sponsored by The Rotary Club of Barrie and proceeds go directly to the local charity projects of Royal Victoria Hospital Foundation "Rotary House". The Rotary House has provided lodging facilities close to cancer treatment which is valuable to both the patient and their families. This supports the dream of keeping families together during cancer treatment, and also to any future patients that may need this support. Since the initiation of this project, over 1 million dollars has been raised to support this foundation. Money has been raised by merchandising tickets to anyone interested in attending the Gala. The Gala involves producing an ice show where former champions voluntarily perform skating programs that are fun and entertaining for their audience to watch. It is similar to watching a live show or play, but the only difference is that skates are involved. Skaters that have performed in the Gala before are Jeffrey Buttle, Jame Sale & David Pelltier, Marie-France Dubreill & Patrick Lauzon, Jennifer Robinson, Annabelle Langois & Cody Hayes, Lesley Hawker, Melissa Briggs, Christopher Mabee, Steve Cousins, and many more. Mariposa School of Skating is also known for holding an Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament, which also may involve any of the above athletes. All proceeds of the event go towards the Alzheimer Society of Great Simcoe County which supports local Alzheimer patients and caregivers with the programs and services needed. Overall, the contributions of this skating club to the community has made quite a difference since its origin in 1973.
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Famous quotes containing the words charity and/or gala:
“Our inherent human charity and our religious beliefs will be taxed to the limit. No poor, rural, weak, or black person should ever have to bear the additional burden of being deprived of the opportunity of an education, a job, or simple justice.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“The first general store opened on the ‘Cold Saturday’ of the winter of 1833 ... Mrs. Mary Miller, daughter of the store’s promoter, recorded in a letter: ‘Chickens and birds fell dead from their roosts, cows ran bellowing through the streets’; but she failed to state what effect the freeze had on the gala occasion of the store opening.”
—Administration in the State of Sout, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)