On Sunday, February 1st, a fundraiser was held in honour of a dear friend. Allen Gilby, a.k.a. Vicki Lawsuit, succumbed to his battle with cancer in December of 2008 at just 40 years of age. Allen and Carol Dubue of OUTBURST were best friends since childhood and it was a very difficult loss for Carol. Growing up together in Ottawa, they were inseparable and as the years passed their friendship held fast. On December 19th Carol received the phone call she had been dreading...Allen had passed away. To honour her long-time friend and raise funds for the Ottawa Cancer Foundation, Carol took on the daunting task of single-handedly organizing this very special event. But there is another side to this fundraising event...Carol is a member of Canadian Showtime Chorus who will be competing in the Sweet Adeline's International Convention in Nashville this October. Now just being a member of the chorus can be bit of an expensive venture, but when you factor in the added expense of travel, lodgings, and meals for 5 days in Tennessee, it really ups the ante. So, Carol decided this would be a two-part fundraiser...of the monies raised, Carol herself would receive 20% to offset the cost of the trip...but it wasn't that easy...in return Carol would have her head shaved. Ottawa's favorite Weatherman, J.J. Clark was the emcee for the afternoon performances by Canadian Showtime Chorus, Shockwave Quartet, and OUTBURST. There were door prizes and a 50/50 draw (won by Carol's Mom, who then donated it back the the Cancer Foundation). But the main event took place when Mario Scalzo, who owns and operates a hair salon in L'Eslanade Laurier, and husband of OUTBURST's very own lead, Santina, picked up his tools and went to work. After the snipping and clipping, brushing and buffing, it was obvious to everyone what a truely special person Carol Dubue is, with or without hair, she is beautiful, inside and out. As a surprise to Carol, her father also collected money and had his head shaved, along with Carol's partner Jeff Pinhey of Shockwave.
At last tally Carol has surpassed her goal of $1500 and is quickly approaching the $2200 mark. And she is still collecting! Once people see the results of what Carol has done, they digging even deeper into their pockets. "The response has been overwhelming", says Carol. For Carol the head shaving is "no big deal". In fact, its the second time she's done this to raise money for the Cancer Foundation. But there are many women out there who would not go so boldly where Carol has gone. She is an inspiration to all of us and OUTBURST is proud to be able to call her their own.
For anyone wishing to donate to Carol's fundraiser, or if you'd like more information about Mario's salon, Shockwave and their "Singing Valentine's, or OUTBURST, please contact Carol, Santina, Nancy, or Debbie at Outburst@canadianshowtimechorus.com .
