Community Newspaper for Blaine, Birch Bay and Semiahmoo, Washington

Gamble a helping hand

The Semiahmoo Ladies Club fundraising juggernaut is rolling again, generating dollars to support local charities. This year the group’s fundraising bash will be a casino night at the Loomis Trail clubhouse, complete with roulette wheels and craps tables.

At the September 8 “Hands Helping Blaine Fantasy Casino” players will wager fantasy dollars and dealers will bend rules to make sure everyone wins. “It is gambling but in a fun way,” said board member Diane Hansen. “The dealers will be creative to insure people have a gaming experience beyond anything they’ve had before.” There will be prizes for top earners and raffle prizes.

Rather than dropping dollars at the gaming tables, gamblers can bid in the live or silent auctions. A parade of items from vacations to furniture will be on the block: a salmon fishing trip, a piano, wine, karaoke machines, manicures, a pie a month for a year, catered gourmet meals, swimming lessons, art, golf packages, custom-made children’s costumes, a night at the horse races, dining room chairs, opera tickets, and Vancouver hotel rooms for starters. “We’re so grateful to all the people and businesses who donated,” Hansen said. “Without them this wouldn’t happen.” Rounding out the evening is a pasta bar dinner and coffee and dessert.

The Semiahmoo Ladies Club has been raising money for Blaine charities since 1992, when their fundraisers generated $2,500 for Blaine firefighters. Since then they’ve raised over $82,000 for community organizations that serve the Blaine area, including the Blaine scholarship fund, the food bank, the boys and girls club, the Plover, the Sardis Wildlife Center and Whatcom Literary Council. The group’s members recommend charities to get a slice of the club’s yearly pie, and the board of directors finalizes the list in the fall after the big fundraiser.

“One of our goals is to try and do some different things,” said Hansen. Tickets for the fantasy casino evening cost $65, which includes a $5 charitable donation, and reservations can be made at 656-5421 or 371-0305. “We certainly have the auction items to reach our goals,” Hansen said. .