Aldergrove’s Mangat family is holding their 11th bi-annual poker night fundraiser at the Royal Canadian Legion’s Aldergrove branch on Saturday, March 1.
Since 2015, the family has held fundraisers to honour the memory of Jodi Mangat’s mother, Surjit Dhillon, who passed away of pancreatic cancer at age 72 in 2014.
”Our family witnessed first hand how this disease can take over a family's life, and completely devastate it,” Mangat shared.
“Over the years we have grown and the community has helped us and our fundraisers get bigger and bigger.”
They started with one poker night a year, which grew to two poker nights a year, and now, in addition to the poker nights, they host a softball tournament in August, all focusing on helping families affected by childhood cancers.
“This is in memory of mom,” Mangat said. “This will be 11 years since my mom passed, and knowing that everyone in the room remembers her for even a minute makes me so happy knowing her memory is still alive.”
This year, the family is sponsoring three-year-old Ben who is battling T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL) at BC Children's Hospital.
There is a $75 buy-in, and a $20 top-up, with a top-eight payout for the tournament and buffet dinner, which kicks off at 1 p.m. sharp -- but doors open at 11 a.m.
In addition to the poker tournament, there will be a 50/50 raffle and cash bar.
Last year, the spring tournament raised just short of $6,000 for the fight against cancer, and the Mangat family is hoping to raise a similar amount or more.
“We need to take a moment to remember those we have lost, and be thankful for those we still have with us. Seeing so much love in one room is heartwarming, and no words can describe what that means to me,” Mangat said.
An online fundraiser for Ben can also be found at gofundme.com.
The Aldergrove legion is located at 26607 Fraser Hwy.
