A Kentucky Derby themed fundraiser in Sarnia in May is raising money to help create more affordable housing in the community.
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The 2024 Kentucky Derby Dinner, May 4 at the Sarnia Riding Club, is the latest annual fundraiser by a Sarnia group that calls itself Couture for the Cure.
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Group member Karen Callies said it has been active for about eight years organizing annual fundraisers.
This year’s event will benefit an affordable housing fund at the Sarnia Community Foundation.
“It is a very big problem,” she said. “I own a small business and I’ve been affected by it by having people camping out in our parking lot. It affects everyone.”
Callies said the committee of seven women behind Couture for the Cure is working this year with local residents who have been advocating on behalf of creating more affordable housing in the community.
“I think homelessness and affordable housing is something that we should really take very seriously,” she said.
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Last year’s fundraiser, also based on the Kentucky Derby, supported Access Open Minds, a youth mental health hub located in downtown Sarnia.
It attracted a full house of 100 people to an event at the Riding Club and raised approximately $7,000, Callies said.
The group’s name comes from fashion show fundraisers it organized in its initial years. They started out supporting breast cancer initiatives, Callies said.
“Every year it gets better and better with more awareness,” she said.
“During lock down, we had time to think about things and just wanted to switch it up,” Callies said. “Nobody else was doing a Kentucky Derby event” locally “and we just thought it would be something different and memorable.”
Tickets to this year’s fundraiser are $100 and available by phoning 226-932-0699, or by contacting organizers by e-mail at [email protected].
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“If you were to go to the Kentucky Derby in Kentucky, it’s $1,000 a ticket,” Callies said.
“This is a way to do that on a much smaller scale and smaller budget.”
The Sarnia event includes a meal along with viewing the race on a large-screen TV, an auction and dancing to music by a DJ
“It’s just a fun event,” Callies said. “It’s a beautiful location. People dress up and we have a live horse you can get your picture taken with outside.”
Following the race’s tradition, some who also attend wear hats, she said.
“You don’t have to dress up but pretty much everybody does get into the whole feel of it,” Callies said. “It just makes it fun.”
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