When Sophia Vaillant arrives at sa国际传媒 Place for Taylor Swift’s concert tonight, she’ll meet the two lucky people who won tickets the University of Victoria student raffled off to raise money for charity.
The 19-year-old from Comox is going to the concert with mom Vivian Vaillant, who lined up 31 family and friends a year ago to apply for a pre-sale code for ticket sales.
One was successful and the family got four VIP tickets.
Instead of selling the extra pair, the mother and daughter decided to raffle them off to raise money for the Lake Trail Community Education Society of Courtenay, where Vivian works.
Based in the West Courtenay community school, the society offers after-school and youth programming, a community garden and outdoor hub, community events and drop-in evenings, and a free salad bar program for Lake Trail students.
Sophia said she’s spent a lot of time volunteering for the society, running a youth leadership program in the summer, helping in its garden and presenting a workshop at an annual winter event.
“I’ve seen the positive impact they have on the community,” she said. “I’m really big on building and fostering community and connections. It’s an organization that really aligns with a lot of my personal values.”
The mother and daughter sold 800 tickets for $25 each in the raffle, which started in mid-September.
All were snapped up a few days prior to the Nov. 13 draw, which took place at a bracelet-making event. The raffle, event and other donations ended up raising a total of $26,657 for the society.
When Sophia heard the total, “My socks were knocked completely off,” she said from Vancouver on Friday.
A Prince George mother won the tickets and gave them to her partner and 10-year-old daughter.
Vaillant, who graduated from Highland Secondary School in Comox and is now in her second year studying business at UVic, said she is a “hard-core Swifty” and expects the concert will be “pretty magical.”
The concert today will be her first time seeing Swift in person. She altered a black body suit by sewing on pink snakes and finding a pink tasselled skirt to wear with it.
Many people are making thousands of dollars selling spare tickets to Swift’s concerts, but Vaillant said she was inspired by the megastar’s message of kindness to others when she decided not to go that route.
Swift interacts with her fans, who come together almost like a community, said Vaillant, who admires Swift’s drive, donations and support she has shown to communities and the team putting on the concerts, as well as the kindness she fosters among fans.
“I think that is something — especially after you become a bigger star — that is really honourable.”
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