The Village of Lumby hopes to raise the roof on its new and improved arena which will benefit a village resident.
A barn dance is slated for the Pat Duke Memorial Arena – affectionately known as ‘The Barn’ – Saturday, April 30 which will have a two-fold effect.
As the team leader of Kraft Hockeyville - Lumby 2016, it was Angie Clowry’s goal to have a dance in The Barn when renovations were complete.
Funds from the Regional District of the North Okanagan, a Telus grant, many donors, the winnings from Kraft Hockeyville and federal gas tax grant all went into the $3-million upgrade.
And then COVID-19 hit.
Now, Clowry says, “It’s time to invite everyone out to have a look inside the rink with an all ages, by-donation Lumby Barn Dance which follows up with a ticketed 19+ dance in the evening.”
Clowry says she wanted the event to benefit someone or something as well, and with Lumby resident Cole Derry needing a second kidney transplant and currently doing dialysis, she says the timing is divine (Derry and his wife, Karen, have been documenting their journey on Facebook: Cole’s Kidney Journey).
Following Derry’s kidney transplant in 2020 various challenges saw them heading to Vancouver a number of times for infections and treatments. Now, doctors are saying that a second kidney transplant is needed.
Derry recently posted, “When the transplant failed it crushed me. I couldn’t ask for support because everyone gave me so much before.”
READ MORE: Kidney disease fails to break Lumby man’s spirit
“Cole and Karen aren’t asking for help, the community is offering it and we plan to have a great time doing it,” said Clowry of Saturday’s dance. “We are gathering silent auction items with the hopes of creating a solid fund for Cole and Karen. Auction items can be dropped off at Trail Tire Lumby.”
A ton of items have already been collected for the silent auction, including the latest, said Clowry, a giant 12-foot live edge wood slab for someone’s woodworking or craftsman dream, $300 value, donated by The Hockey Family and Trinity Valley Wood Working.
Live music will be provided by The Young’Uns, Lost N Found Band and DJ Bonneau.
There will be an all ages dance by donation to Cole’s Kidney Journey from 4 to 5:30 p.m., followed by the 19+ dance from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Advance tickets are $40 and available at Jitterbeans, Trail Tire Lumby, Antlers, and in Vernon at Farm Bound’s Warehouse Sales on Thursday and Saturday while they last.
Another task will be to sign people up to be an organ donor.
Get your health care number and log on to taketwominutes.ca to register your consent for organ donation.
“We have a great Lumby resident, Grandma Joan Barker, who received a liver more than 25 years ago, I remember her before and after her surgery and the impact her and her family has made in the community,” said Clowry. “We are so grateful for the person and their family who chose to donate it. And we hope that in a tragedy that we all pay life forward with organ donations to help others.”
Clowry is challenging friends of Derry’s and anyone who’s family member has received an organ donation, “please consider becoming a living donor. We each have two kidneys, if we can find a living kidney donor this would be the best outcome for the event as well as for Cole.”
Derry has a less common B+ blood type, and while you may not be the correct blood type match for him, you may be for someone else. And a paired exchange of kidney donors can happen.
For those wanting to support financially with an e-transfer or willing to consider live kidney donation email kidney4cole@gmail.com.
A GoFundMe campaign has also been launched and, as of Sunday, April 24, had raised $1,200.
READ MORE: Lumby man needing second kidney gets behind Green Shirt Day
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