Local Fundraiser in Eady for COPE Service Dogs was a Big Success!

—submitted

On the Saturday afternoon of May 18 the EADY Community Hall in Oro-Medonte Township was filled to capacity.

Sandy Price and her husband Ralph live in Oro-Medonte. Sandy plays “old time” fiddle and Ralph is a square dance caller. They held the Third Annual, Fiddle Jam/Dance/Square Dance Event to celebrate Fiddle Day, and rather than charge admission they asked attendees to make a donation for COPE Service Dogs. They arranged for COPE to bring dogs to the hall and an enthusiastic group of fiddlers, other musicians, dancers and listeners came in numbers. People came and went throughout the afternoon and the total attendance is estimated at 125.  When you looked at the stage, or out on the dance floor and the seating areas, you could tell how much people were enjoying themselves as smiles prevailed as did dancing and “toe tapping” feet.

There are a lot of people who regularly attend the old time jams/dances/square dances and many of them come to this each year. They affectionately refer to the event as the “Dog Dance”. We don’t care what they call it as long as they come and donate.

There were five service dogs there, together with their handlers/trainers from COPE. Having the dogs there is an important part of the day, as it allows the attendees to see where their donations go. At the mid-point of the day, we get the dogs and their handlers lined up in front of the stage for a “photo shoot” and then we do what we call the “dog parade or dog dance”. A lively fiddle tune is played and the handlers can then parade their dog around the room or get them up on their hind legs and dance. When they do this, the dogs enjoy it immensely as you can tell from the vigorously wagging tails; and the audience loves it.

Now for the important part—how much money did we raise? In year one, we raised $2,300. In year two, we raised $3,000. This year, we raised over $4,500, for a three-year-total of over $9,800.

We need to thank all the attendees who came and donated so generously as well as those who donated through the COPE website. This year, we sought out some Corporate donors and enjoyed some success in that area.

These are our 2024 Corporate donors:

EXPERIENCE NISSAN, ORILLIA ($100)
NEXT GEN HUB INC., ORILLIA ($300)
PAUL SADLON MOTORS, BARRIE ($500)
R & F CONSTRUCTION DKI INC., ORILLIA ($500) — They have donated the same amount in each of the first two years.
SAFETY TRAINING AND CONSULTING SERVICES LTD., ORILLIA ($300)

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OUR DONORS. 

We must also thank CTV Barrie, K. C. Colby for doing the ‘advancer” interview at Paul Sadlon Motors prior to the event.

Also a thank you to Tyler Evans of Orillia Matters for coming and covering the event and for the article he wrote.

Further, we need to thank North Simcoe Life for publishing an article prior to the event and for publishing this “wrap-up” article.

It is not too late to donate. If you couldn’t be there, but feel inclined to donate, you can still do so through the COPE website: www.copedogs.org — Click on Support, Click on Donate, enter ”Fiddle Day” in Tribute and then complete the rest of the form.

All in all a GREAT DAY and if you weren’t there you missed a real good time.
Put May 17, 2025 on your calendar, as all being well, we shall be holding the Fourth Annual event.