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Ten years, $10K: AmiJane Funraiser makes triumphant return for Rowan House

A night filled with music in honour of a beloved Okotoks-born woman killed 10 years ago has raised $10,000 to be donated to local emergency and domestic violence services.
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Ally Cramm (left), Chris Tulloch (centre) and Linette Soldan (centre right) from Rowan House Emergency Shelter accept a cheque from Ed and Debbie Sands. The Sands' fundraiser in memory of their daughter Amy returned to the Elks Hall this year after a pandemic hiatus.

A fundraiser in memory of Amy Sands has raised $10,000 for a Foothills emergency shelter. 

Representatives from Rowan House Society paid a visit to the home of Ed and Debbie Sands on Dec. 19 to receive the donations which were collected during a night of music and memories. 

The Nov. 26 event was the first AmiJane Funraiser in three years and filled the Okotoks Elks Hall with tunes from local bands and artists, supplemented by a rather large silent auction. 

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Ed Sands and his son Mike play at the AmiJane Funraiser at the Okotoks Elks Hall on Nov. 26. Held in honour of Ed's daughter Amy Sands, who was killed 10 years ago, the event returned after a hiatus since 2019 to raise funds for the Rowan House Emergency Shelter. Brent Calver/OkotoksTODAY.ca

All of the money raised will go to support emergency shelter and domestic violence services across Southern Alberta via Rowan House. 

"We live in such a great community," said Debbie. 

A man who attended the fundraiser actually cut a cheque for $3,000 after having a conversation with board chair Chris Tulloch, she added. 

Amy Sands passed away in 2012 when a man shot through the garage door of a drug house following a confrontation with Sands' on-again, off-again boyfriend. 

Sands' family and friends have organized a 'funraiser' in her honour ever since, taking the opportunity to do the things that Amy loved – music, acting and having fun – while raising money for a worthwhile cause that was near and dear to Amy's heart. 

"This is what the fundraiser is all about – remembering Amy," Debbie previously told The Wheel. "But also raising money for women who need to escape violence or bad home situations, bad life situations."

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