EPIC / SMILE of St. Malo Inc staff blown away by generous community

EPIC de St Malo Inc / SMILE of St Malo Inc held their 50th Anniversary celebration last weekend and their Support Services Manager says the event was very successful.  

Danyka Hunnie says their committee decided to make EPIC’s 50th-year celebration meaningful, so they decided to turn it into a fundraiser for the organization and invited the community.  

“So that's when it turned into a day event, as well as a fundraiser and a dinner. So, it was a very busy day.”  

Hunnie says the celebration started with a hot dog lunch open to the community and our staff and participants here at EPIC.  

“Our participants really enjoy hot dog lunches and things along those lines. So, following the hot dog lunch, we had a small carnival planned where we had six different stations that the participants were able to visit. And everyone really enjoyed being able to socialize, playing their games, and winning prizes. It made for a really fun afternoon.” 

Hunnie notes the community was invited to the hot dog lunch and then invited to go on facility tours. “So, it was kind of like an Open House.  When one group left, another would come in, which is nice because we got a lot of circulation through a day program. Which is what we were hoping would happen, to promote our program through this event.”  

“It was really nice. People would stay and visit under the tents with community members. So, it was great.” 

Hunnie says they were blown away by all the support they received.  

“Our silent auction was showstopping. It was absolutely gorgeous, and was filled with really nice prizes. And then amazing the grand prizes, which we were lucky to have put together with all the donations from everyone.”  

She adds, “We were blown away by the attendance. Our tent was full the majority of the day and we really, really appreciate everything the community has done for us as we celebrate our 50th.”

EPIC/SMILE 50th Anniversary dinner under the tent in St. Malo

Hunnie says they also sold more meal tickets than they had prepared meals for.  

“We had hopes of selling 150 tickets at $50 per plate. But we ended up selling 195 plates, so we had to order more food. But that was exciting for us because that's not something that we were really expecting.” 

Hunnie describes the feeling in the tent during the evening as cheerful, beautiful, and uplifting, and says “I think I speak for everybody when we say it exceeded all of our expectations.” 

She adds, “It far exceeded our expectations because we hadn’t counted on all the support from the community. Our intent was to have a great celebration and maybe raise a bit of money. But now we were able to collect enough funds to put towards a van, or a forklift, or the expansion of our programming. It is really, really incredible.” 

Hunnie notes that while the celebration has come and gone, they are still hoping to raise funds throughout the year.  

"Our organization is getting bigger and we just want to continue to support our staff and our community in the best way that we can.”

If you are interested in making a donation to EPIC de St Malo Inc / SMILE of St Malo Inc click this link to their website. Contact information can also be found on their website.