A tremendous show of support from the local community for Rosslander Carol Enns will be celebrated with a fantastic show of fundraising this Thursday, Aug. 15 at the Eagles Hall.
The community is pulling together for a live and silent auction with musical accompaniment by Rossland veteran rockers “the Best Of …” for the event to raise money for the beloved Rosslander who was critically injured in a car accident in June in the U.S.
Already the community has raised over $9,000 for the effort to help offset the costs incurred by Enns' hospital stay in the U.S., and for her primary group of support—daughter Hannah, son Corby and boyfriend Chuck Fuller—to travel to be at her side while she fights her battle to heal.
“There has been a fantastic show of support already from our local community businesses and business people,” said Enns' family friend and one of the organizers, Heather Bartlett.
Enns’ life was changed forever in a head-on collision near Kettle Falls, WA on June 29. She spent over two weeks in intensive care at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, WA. She’s since been transferred to Vancouver General Hospital where she continues her fight to heal and her fight to live.
Enns' injuries are extensive: shattered femurs, both knee caps blown out, both ankles shattered, both shoulders broken, a broken sternum, broken ribs, ruptured spleen, surgery on her liver and her hips were fractured.
But the hardest blow of all for the former ski patroler at Red Mountain—and an avid outdoorswoman—is the news she had been blinded by the crash.
Her recovery will be extensive and she will need the continued support of the community, Bartlett said.
“Her journey ahead will be long and, at times, unimaginable,” she said. “As Carol's choice to live was made within herself, the effect she had on the community became really evident to me.”
Enns is able to talk on the phone and is awaiting an imminent transfer to Abbotsford where she will embark on a more rigorous program of rehabilitation than she is currently receiving in Vancouver.
“I'm reassured when I hear her voice over the phone,” said Bartlett. “She's still the same Carol we all know. Her mind and spirit are 100 per cent intact and her focus on recovering is unquestionable.”
Bartlett said Enns is already talking about what the future holds for her when she returns home to Rossland.
“In witnessing her will to live and her basic love of life, she is without question the strongest person I know and an inspiration,” she added.
The auction will include artwork, brand new electronics, awesome sporting gear, gift certificates, wines, brand new clothing and much more, totalling thousands of dollars in prizes.
Enns eclectic artistic artworks will serve as door prizes and a fantastic piece will also be up for live auction.
Seventy five per cent of proceeds will go to Enns and the remaining 25 per cent replenished back to the Shovel’s Family Relief Fund.
The Eagles' Hall opens at 3 p.m. for viewing and purchase of the live auction catalogue. To participate in the live auction it costs $2 for a paddle. Live auction begins at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $20. People who can't attend the event can purchase a $20 “My Donation” ticket (all tickets will be entered for a door prize).
Tickets available at the Aerie Eagles building and Clansey’s restaurant or call 250-362-9553 (Thursday to Sunday, 3-7 p.m.).
Other events
The Kootenay Carol’s Children’s Festival and Benefit Concert will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The festival will take place throughout the Rossland Arena parking lot and Nickleplate Park.
The festival will include crafts, games, entertainment, a Saturday Farmer’s Market, food and beverages.