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Dave Sheets Memorial Fund is launched

Contributions to go towards critical care equipment For his friends, Dave Sheets embodied everything that is good about Whistler.

Contributions to go towards critical care equipment

For his friends, Dave Sheets embodied everything that is good about Whistler. He was honest, hard-working, loved his girlfriend, his dog and the great outdoors, and he didn’t take life too seriously. He was also a gifted athlete whose abilities as a skier were as great as his love of the mountains.

Sheets, 31, died of a head injury on the afternoon of Feb. 12 after an accidental collision with another skier. The Ski Patrol has looked into the incident, and found neither skier to be at fault. Sheets was wearing a helmet at the time, but even helmets have their limits in certain situations.

Like a lot of locals, Sheets took his risks in the mountains, but he was not careless with life. Proof of this is the fact that he had filled out an organ donor card, and six different people in critical need were saved by this gesture.

His funeral service and memorial party attracted more than 300 people from all walks of life. The outpouring of grief quickly became an outpouring of generosity as friends rallied to create a positive legacy for Sheets.

"With the present economy, there is a real need for fundraising for critical care equipment in this corridor," says Chris Quinlan, a friend of Sheets who helped to organize the memorial fund. "We ski, we mountain bike, we rock climb. We do all of this at a very high level, and we’re losing one or two friends a year. In Dave’s honour, and for ourselves, we’re going to make an effort to get the equipment the doctor’s need to save lives."

Immediately after Sheets’ death, a rumour went around that the Whistler Health Care Centre had to fly in a special drill from Victoria in an attempt to help Sheets. The day after the accident, Rob Boyd passed around the hat at a Kokannee Valley Race Series apres party to raise money to buy a drill for the health care centre. He also won the pair of draw prize skis, which he then auctioned off to raise even more money.

Although the rumour turned out to be false, the idea to raise money for critical care equipment took hold. Within a few weeks, the fund had raised over $10,000. Six pairs of skis were auctioned off in different circumstances, including a pair of Sheets’ skis.

Others chipped in by visiting Quinlan’s coffee shop, Behind The Grind, on a day when all the proceeds from the coffee would go towards the fund. That raised $1,100, with donations in the jar matching the proceeds from the sale of coffee.

"It was just amazing the support I got. People who don’t even like me were coming in to buy coffee that day, and I was picking fifties and hundreds out of the donation jar," says Quinlan.

The fund decided to work with the Whistler Health Care Foundation, which already has the necessary non-profit certifications in place, plus extensive experience dealing with the health care bureaucracy in the province. The Dave Sheets Fund will be administered separately by an advisory committee of friends, and will decide where the money should go.

Although it could change, one of the current goals of the fund is to purchase a CT scanner, which can help doctors to detect and treat head injuries.

"We talked to the doctors, and that’s the one piece of equipment they believe could have the most impact in Whistler," Quinlan says. "It’s already on (the Whistler Health Care Centre’s) list of priorities for the B.C. Health Association, and we’d like the money to go towards that, or to help out as much as possible."

To raise more money for the scanner, friends are stepping up to host fundraisers in support of the fund.

The first event on the calendar is the Sheetsy Showdown, a memorial hockey game with a concession, beer garden, raffles and a 50-50 draw. The organizer, Cam Fellows, has already had the arena time donated, and is currently approaching businesses to contribute prizes to the event.

If you want to participate in the game, or contribute a prize you can contact Fellows at camfellows@hotmail.com .

Other fundraisers in the works include a fishing derby (Sheets was a fishing guide in the summer months), a ski race, car washes, and promotions at local bars. A poster of Sheets skiing for a Sierra Designs advertisement – ‘Let’s do launch!’ – will also be made available.

"I was the master of ceremonies at Dave’s service, and I was amazed by the crowd. There were people from all walks of life there, filling the auditorium, the aisles, the hallway, the stairway, and they are all making a contribution," said Quinlan.

"A lot of the people who are donating aren’t making a lot, but they knew Dave and they’ve put their money where they think it matters. The generosity in this town is just incredible, and this is a real grass roots fund to buy some equipment we need. I think Sheetsy would have wanted this."

More notices about fundraisers will be posted as they become available. Supporters can also make donations at the Whistler Health Care Centre.