Baseball fundraiser
Motorcycle club Cerberus Saints is helping organize a baseball tournament fundraiser, “Tournoi de Balle pour Zoé” in support of a local family. Photo courtesy of Joey Deschênes.
Motorcycle club Cerberus Saints is in the midst of helping organize the “Tournoi de Balle pour Zoé” fundraiser and club member Joey Deschênes wants to spread the word in support of the cause.
Deschênes and other club members jumped at the chance to be involved in the fundraiser in support of Zoé and her family. Zoé was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck three times. Not long afterwards, she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy type Quadriplegia, which affects the arms and legs. As a result, work will have to be carried out on the family home to better adapt it to Zoé’s needs. The fundraiser is taking place in Saint-Alphonse on July 16 and anyone is welcomed to get involved.
The “Tournoi de Balle pour Zoé” fundraiser is just one of many community initiatives that Deschênes’ has been involved in. Last summer, he organized a car wash and a barbecue, (“Levées de fonds pour Liam”) to raise money in support of another Waterloo family and raised almost $5,000.
“Last year, I was also involved in creating a display for people who are unemployed or homeless that needed jackets and warm clothing for winter,” added Deschênes.
Deschênes said that if he can help his community, he will and that members of Cerberus Saints feel the same way.
“They are all people with their hand on their heart. They want to be involved and it’s one of the reasons why we (the club) got started. We are all people that like to ride bikes and that also love the community,” said Deschênes.
Around three weeks ago, Deschênes’ old neighbour, who is a close friend of Zoé’s family, reached out to him on Facebook to ask if he had seen the GoFundMe that has been set up for Zoé and the baseball tournament fundraiser after hearing about Joey’s involvement in the community.
“When I saw the event, I said it’s certain that I will be involved in this fundraiser. It didn’t even take two minutes, I called up the Cerberus and each member also decided to hop on. We did as much as we could to find sponsors and we also spoke with construction companies that we know of. We asked if there were other things that we could do as well,” said Deschênes.
All money raised from the baseball tournament will go towards Zoé to make the changes they need to their home.
“Right now, she walks using a wheelchair, but doctors have said that they don’t think it will be too long until she will need a wheelchair permanently. (…) The driveway is not asphalted, they don’t have a ramp, they need an elevator so that little Zoé can go from one floor to the next, they don’t have a shower where a wheelchair can enter. There is a lot of work,” explained Deschênes. “According to Zoé’s mother, the work is estimated at $150,000.”
The “Tournoi de balle pour Zoé” fundraiser invites those that want to do their part for a full day of baseball. There will also an auction, and hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, etc., will be served all day long. Those that can’t make it to the tournament can also play their part by contributing to the “Une Maison Adapté pour Zoé” GoFundMe page.
“The GoFundMe has already reached around $20,000 raised. People are already getting very involved just with the GoFundMe, so we are excited to see people at the tournament,” mentioned Deschênes.
Those that want to take part in the ball tournament can register a team by going to the “Tournoi de Balle pour Zoé” Facebook event page. Those interested in sponsoring the event or helping out in some way, can also reach out through this Facebook page. The “Tournoi de Balle pour Zoé” will take place on July 16 from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Listen to the full interview below:
