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HeroWork builder behind bars for weekend fundraiser at Uptown in Saanich

Jail, Bail or Bribe, May 6 to 8 offers fun fundraiser for charitable reno company
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’Judge’ Gordy Dodd throws the book at HeroWork Victoria project manager Trevor Botkin. The latter will be behind bars for the weekend at Uptown in Saanich as part of the charity renovation organization’s Jail, Bail and Bribe fundraiser. (Courtesy HeroWork Victoria)

HeroWork Victoria general manager Trevor Botkin wants to prove his innocence and to do it, he’s encouraging the community to donate to bail him out of a makeshift jail cell at Uptown in Saanich this weekend.

Then again, there are others in the community willing to donate to keep him locked up for the weekend.

Either way, supporters of HeroWork and its radical renovation projects for non-profit organizations around Greater Victoria will be donating to help it raise money toward its next reno, Cool Aid’s Downtown Community Centre at 755 Pandora Ave.

HeroWork’s Jail, Bail or Bribe campaign will see Botkin locked up at 11 a.m. Friday (May 6) – wearing an orange jumpsuit and ball and chain – and stay until Sunday under the HeroWork tent in the plaza at Uptown. The public is encouraged to come down and donate to the cause. Event sponsor Slegg Building Materials will match the first $20,000 donated to bail Botkin out, while the Hambley Family Foundation will match the first $10,000 in “bribes” to keep him behind bars.

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All told, it’s a fun fundraiser designed to get a headstart on funding the Cool Aid project, scheduled to start in mid-August according to HeroWork CEO Paul Latour. That will see a transformation of the space into a more accessible, flexible, safe and welcoming facility for Cool Aid to host programming for people in poverty.

That’s a slightly earlier start than its usual fall renovation projects, but with supply chain issues and another COVID wave potentially slowing the work down, it’s important to have enough to ensure the project is done by the time the centre transitions to also being used as an emergency cold weather shelter, Latour said.

To find out more about the fundraiser and HeroWork projects, visit victoria.herowork.com.


 

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