Coming Together For Cole

By Todd Curran
The one good thing about tragedy is that it brings people together. On August 1st, tragedy was the furthest thing from Cole Irvine's mind until he ran down the beach and dove into the water at Tie Lake, shattering two vertebrae.
Cole is still in the hospital recovering from surgery, but friends and family of the 22 year-old are rallying to support him in any way they can. He's got a lot of great people in his corner and I met with a crowd of them who are organizing fundraisers in his honour. “He's always there for everybody,” Cole's friend says. “He's the hardest working kid you've ever met,” says another. “You could be having the worst day of your life until you run into Cole,” says Lori Collins, Owner of Cougars Sports Bar in Turner Valley.
Cougars will be hosting an event in September to raise funds for Cole and his mother Shirley, featuring live music and a variety of auction items to bid on. “This is so Cole and Shirley can get whatever they need,” says Logan Trottier, who opened a trust account for Cole at ATB. “Anyone can donate to the account, which is in trust under John Cole Irvine.”
Cole's crew invites you to the gazebo at Royalite Millennium Park in Turner Valley on August 15th for the Sunday Fun Day Festival. Chase Hummel and other local musicians will be taking the stage to dish up some live entertainment at the all ages show, which runs from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. Kids can get their faces painted, enjoy cupcakes sold by Cole's friends to raise funds and be mesmerized by hula hoop performers. The entire event will also be broadcast live via webcam to Cole's room. “We want to give people that haven't seen Cole a chance to say hello,” says his friend T.J.
“Everything for this event is being donated,” Lori says. “We want to make it as huge and as much fun as we can to remind the community that we ARE a community. Cole's friends are good kids and they're taking care of their own.”
For more information on participating, donating or attending the events, contact Logan at 403-472-0249 or Lori at 403-801-9992.