INSIDER - CDC 15

You’ve likely seen them at Vancouver Canucks and Vancouver Warriors games or concerts at Rogers Arena – 50/50 ticket sellers in bright green aprons, weaving through the crowd with friendly smiles and plenty of energy.

While their role is to boost the excitement of game night by offering fans a chance to win big, these dedicated volunteers are also helping to raise significant funds for the Canucks for Kids Fund (CFKF), a cause that has inspired many of them to return season after season.

We've sat down with four CFKF volunteers to learn about how they got into it, and why the cause is so important to them.

The crew develops camaraderie with their fellow volunteers and enjoy the interactions with fans and excitement of the game. They all have their regulars, and each have their own flair for closing a sale.

Over the years, the volunteers have sold many memorable winning tickets. They all agree it’s one of the most exciting parts of the work they do around Rogers Arena.

Jessica Ilagan

Jessica has been a volunteer since January of 2017 and in addition to the meaningful relationships she’s made when she’s at the rink, volunteering brought her family closer too.

She was born into Canucks fandom - her dad lived and breathed Canucks – and he dreamed about his daughter getting involved in charity work with the team one day. Hearing her dad talk about it for many years, and then a co-worker mentioning it to her, she decided to sign up. After her first night volunteering at a Canucks game at Rogers Arena, she was hooked.

She would talk to her dad about games after shifts and Jessica would bring her son to games, developing his appreciation for the game which helped him and his grandfather bond as well.

Her dad battled and conquered cancer in the mid-2000's, but it returned a decade later. Before he passed away in 2020, one of his wishes was that Jessica continue volunteering. The Canucks’ playoff run last year was emotional for Jessica as a fan but also knowing how much that would have meant to her father.

“We’re in the building with the hype, especially during playoffs. I mean the vibes – that was nuts,” she said.

Jessica sells 50/50 tickets in the suites on the 200-level, and she has also worked at the 500-level. She has sold over $600,000 in raffle tickets and says one of her best pieces of advice for other volunteers is to be around people when the Canucks score because fans are extra generous when they hear the goal horn.

“Some people [who buy 50/50] have superstitions where they want us to come back later that game, or they want to purchase from somebody else, so we'll call a different volunteer to come over,” Jessica explained.

As a CFKF 50/50 volunteer, there are opportunities to volunteer for more than just games and she says it’s an honour to be invited to sell 50/50 tickets at galas to continue to raise money for people in need.

"Growing up, it was all about work. For me, this is my way of giving back finally,” Jessica said. “We're having a good time at the same and I’ve made a lot of good friends doing this.”

Mary Chan Yip

Mary started volunteering with the CFKF in 2010 because one of their primary beneficiaries is B.C. Children’s Hospital and its foundation is a place that is dear to her heart.

Mary’s niece was treated for Kawasaki disease as a baby at B.C. Children’s Hospital. Her niece, now 22 years old, recovered due to the care of doctors and nurses.

“Volunteering for the 50/50 is for a good cause, it gives back, and a lot of it benefits children. Kids are the most innocent people around and they shouldn’t have to go through things like that, and anything we can do to help out we should,” Mary said.

Gone are the days of paper tickets, but Mary remembers them vividly. It was added entertainment for fans as people would gather around the raffle drum in anticipation of winning half of the prize money.

“When I started, it was the early stages of the program. We were ripping tickets, and the pots were a lot smaller,” Mary said. “At the beginning of the third period they would push the barrel out and someone would spin the handle to mix the numbers, and they’d open a trap door to select one piece of paper. It was actually pretty cool,” she said.

A Canucks fan forever, Mary went to games at the Pacific Coliseum when her boss at the time would give his seasons tickets to employees. Mary remembers attending the ‘92 playoffs and the excitement of the ‘94 playoff run.

She became a business owner and in the early years of growing her business and raising her kids, she didn’t have as much time to volunteer, but once her children were older and her career was established, she jumped into helping and giving back in a different way.

Seeing clients at games is part of the fun of volunteering now too, deepening that community connection.

Through 15 years of volunteering, Mary has sold over $1,000,000 in tickets. She’s been stationed all around Rogers Arena – starting at section 122, Gate 7, 500-level suites – and now she’s on the 200-level suites.

“You run into clients here and they do a double take and ask ‘Didn’t I just see you this morning?’ Yes, you did,” Mary laughed. “It’s dynamic, it’s fun.”

When she approaches people to buy 50/50 tickets, she explains the causes the CFKF supports. She feels like having success selling 50/50 is similar to success in business and in sports – you have to work hard and believe in what you’re doing.

Dan Mielke

Dan has a deep connection to the Canucks. His dad (Dr. Chuck Mielke) was one of the team dentists when the Canucks played in the Western Hockey League and their family had season tickets when the team played at the Pacific Coliseum.

Dan is no stranger to doing good for others either; he is a living kidney donor for his late sister, Darragh. Darragh loved volunteering with CFKF and asked Dan to join her in 2018. Now, he continues to volunteer to honour her.

“She was very tiny, and she said, ‘I need somebody to protect me when I'm there’ so I said, okay, I'll do it with you,” Dan said. “My sister has since passed on the 29th of November, but I'm still doing it for her.”

Dan recalled when Darragh was in the hospital in 2014, she shared a room with the late Pat Quinn. The two of them would have chats with Quinn, who once lamented that he’d never won a Stanley Cup, so Darragh went and bought him a chocolate replica Cup.

“He couldn’t smoke cigars [in the hospital], but he loved chocolate,” Dan said.

Dan’s son’s name is Quinn, the namesake of the Canucks’ former President and General Manager.

Dan takes a comedic approach to selling 50/50, because who doesn’t love some good old-fashioned ribbing? His energy and enthusiasm make everyone’s night memorable.

“I see people coming in wearing the other team jerseys, let’s say it’s for Bruins fans, my line is usually, ‘Hey, Bruins fans, here's your chance to win something tonight,’ and they want to get on you right away, they want to talk to you.” Dan said with a big smile. “Then, Canucks fans around me will say ‘Oh, we liked that one’ and then they’ll buy from you too.”

Dan is usually at Gate 2, but has been stationed all over the arena. He has sold over $330,000 in nearly 800 volunteer hours, and his answer to why volunteering is important to him is simple.

“Everybody needs a little help. People always ask if I can guarantee a winning ticket and I always say, yes, it's a winning ticket. They're all winning tickets because they all go to help the kids. You want the lucky ticket. Just think of it this way: your 50 bucks or 25 bucks is helping save some eight-year-old from leukemia.”

If you see Dan around, ask him for a story before you buy a ticket – each story is more impressive than the last.

Joanne Cochrane

Joanne was looking to get into volunteering, so her coworkers pointed her toward the CFKF. She started volunteering in the 2005-06 season and she’s grateful to the organization for the opportunity.

She admits she never grew up watching hockey, but she’s become a fan of the team because of the work the CFKF does and the message from the Canucks organization resonates with her.

“I learned from the CFKF that if you're going to work for the Canucks at any level, they want people to give back and be very involved in the community. They want you to foster what's going on, not necessarily just with yourself and your own career, but the bigger picture,” Joanne said.

“When I realized that I was making a one-to-one connection with people that I knew, it brought me to a whole different level of community, of connection, of knowing that what I was doing was making a difference.”

While she’s selling tickets, she takes the opportunity to educate fans about the initiatives of the CFKF.

Joanne loves a feel-good story and enjoys hearing about how the money has changed the lives of beneficiaries and the 50/50 winners. Before every shift, the volunteers have briefings where they touch on stories and she recalled one briefing in 2007 when they announced that the CFKF was doing so well that they were able to grant funds to more beneficiaries and were rolling out the Canucks Autism Network (CAN), which has since had a positive impact on people close to her.

Joanne has sold $300,000 in tickets and has sold over a dozen winning tickets, which she says is an amazing feeling. She’s tallied 435 volunteer hours and is usually around Gate 8 or on the concourse, and more than happy to help anywhere she’s needed.

She recently retired, but when she was still working, people would come by her desk wanting to talk hockey, but she’d always steered the conversation to the Canucks for Kids Fund.

The CFKF and its beneficiaries support local communities across B.C., providing critical access to advance children’s health, wellness, education, and social impact programming, and promoting hockey at the grassroots level across the province. To buy 50/50 tickets visit here.