A sold-out fundraiser for Dylan Cross brought in more than $11,500 on Oct. 25.
Through burger and beer sales, a meat draw, a silent auction, games, T-shirt sales and 50/50 draws, the total was realized, and it was more than friends Claire Stalley, Dana Prevost and Allison Yearly had hoped for.
“We were just overwhelmed,” Yearly said.
The trio planned the fundraiser for their 22-year-old friend who had been in a coma in Vancouver General Hospital following a single-vehicle accident near Hill Road in Sechelt on Sept. 25. Any money raised was to help her family stay by her side in Vancouver while she recovers.
The event was held at Gilligan’s Pub in Sechelt, which was crowded with people from the moment it started at 4:30 p.m.
“At one point I was looking around and it was just packed. There was no room to sit down,” Yearly recalled.
The giving actually started earlier that day when the Lions Club hosted a meat draw that brought in $950. The club donated that amount and added another $500 for good measure.
“That was amazing,” Stalley said.
Throughout the night three 50/50 draws were held, and two of the three winners donated some or all of their winnings back to the cause.
The silent auction table also held 72 items, some of which fetched more than they were worth.
“It was pretty unreal,” Yearly said, adding the trio was thankful for all of the community support.
The night before the big event the friends got some good news that Dylan had woken up from her coma and the buzz at the event was that the outpouring of support had something to do with it.
Dylan’s mother Sandra Cross thanked the community for all they had done after the event on her Facebook page and she posted an update on Dylan that Coast Reporter was given permission to share.
Despite battling pneumonia while in a coma, Dylan is getting “stronger by the day,” Sandra said.
“Her CT scan shows improvement everywhere, which is what we wanted to hear. Swelling is going down, bones are healing and she is slowly getting better with time,” Sandra said. “Her neck brace should be coming off in the next couple of weeks, then we can start doing more … things are progressing. She just needs time.”
Sandra is thankful for the amazing community support and noted she has shed several tears thinking about it lately.
“Thank you all so very much for all your generosity.”
