Charity volleyball tournament raises $3K for Shades of Hope

By Michelle Poirier

The 4^th Shades of Hope Charity Volleyball Tournament took place on September 23, raising $3,000 in their biggest year yet.

The tournament took place at The ROC with a total of 12 teams and 73 players.

Savanna Quiring, coordinator of the tournament, started the day by thanking everyone for attending.

“The money from today is going to Shades of Hope, a wildlife refuge in Pefferlaw. There are very few around anymore because of COVID and economic hardship,” she said.

Quiring said she’ll see people posting online about found or injured animals wondering what to do and see a lot of uneducated responses.

“If you have a question, call any wildlife refuge, they will tell you absolutely free of charge, and it will be accurate information,” she said.

Quiring shared that Gail Lenters, the founder and board president of Shades of Hope, wished she could be there, but they currently have 500 animals in their care.

Quiring said everything for the tournament was donated, from the raffle and door prizes to the food, to the equipment and the permits for the volleyball courts.   

“The thing that impresses me most is the community donations, almost every store I go to gives me a donation and some of them have donated for four years and very generously,” she said.

Linda Wahrer, Heather Allan and Liz Dufoe have been volunteering since the first tournament and said it’s just been getting bigger and better every year.

“I got involved because I’ve seen Savanna’s passion for animals, always looking for a way to help Shades of Hope. It’s such a wonderful enterprise in the community and anything I can do, and we can do to help her raise money is a worthwhile cause,” Wahrer said.

Amy Burrows and Jeremy Johnston, residents of Beaverton, joined a team to support Shades of Hope and to meet new people.

Burrows said she has called Shades of Hope in the past when she found a gosling on the side of the road, and they helped by giving her information on what to do.

“My partner just moved to the area and he’s a huge volleyball enthusiast. So, I figured it might be a good introduction to the volleyball community,” she said.  

For more information about Shades of Hope you can visit www.shadesofhope.ca.