Chelsea Banner may not have had the opportunity to attend the Nickelback concert held earlier this month, but she walked away with one rocking souvenir.
The Cowichan District Hospital Foundation recently wrapped up its Rockin’ Out for Healthcare campaign, raising funds for the new hospital while raffling off a guitar signed by members of Nickelback. The band performed at the Laketown Amphitheatre on Aug. 9 alongside the Sam Roberts Band and The Glorious Sons.
The foundation secured the autographed guitar through one of its longtime supporters at RBC, who had a personal connection with the band.
"She very generously reached out to Chad on behalf of CDHF for an item to raffle," said foundation marketing director Deborah Rogers. "We knew with the Nickelback concert taking place at Laketown Ranch that there would be lots of interest and it made for a really fun and unusual raffle to promote."
Banner, who is an electrician apprentice with Houle and has been working on the new hospital since January, was over the moon on the afternoon of Aug. 19 as she was "Shakin Hands" with members of the foundation before they presented her with the acoustic guitar. She jokes that this is much better than the last thing she won — a cakewalk competition in Grade 4.
"It feels amazing it's so cool," said Banner. "I honestly couldn't believe it, I was like pinch me. I've been telling everybody about it, I'm really really excited. It was really kind of neat to be part of a fundraiser for such a beautiful project."
When asked if she was a Nickelback fan, she replied excitedly.
"How could you not be? They are one of the most amazing rock bands of all time, and they are Canadian too boot," said Banner.
While Banner admits she doesn't play guitar well herself, she does have a little Fender acoustic that she loves to plunk away on. She also plays the alto sax and sings. For now, she might be keeping her eyes on the prize instead of her fingers — she already has a spot picked out on the wall for the guitar, above her drum kit.
"We were delighted to meet our winner Chelsea and discover that not only is she a huge Nickelback fan and a keen musician herself, but she is also currently working at the new hospital construction site," said Rogers. "We had great support from the IBEW Local 230 who generously bought a ticket each for every one of the electrical workers on site. That was a tremendous way for them to give back to this important project, and then it made it very special for the winning ticket drawn to be one of theirs. Congratulations Chelsea!"
More than $12,500 was raised through the Rockin’ Out for Healthcare raffle. The funds will be added to the foundation’s ongoing campaign to support state-of-the-art medical equipment for the new hospital. A matching donation from Jim Pattison will now double the total raised.
For more information, visit cdhfoundation.ca
"There couldn't be a better thing to do a fundraiser for," said Banner. "It's going to be a beautiful building for a beautiful community."
