An online fundraiser has been set up to help support a local family after a recent cancer diagnosis.
Six-year-old Duncan Eckert was recently diagnosed with leukemia, and the Williams Lake community has rallied behind him and his parents, Brandon and Kelli, and sister Chelley by starting a Facebook page for an online auction with all proceeds going directly to the family as they navigate through this battle.
Duncan's kindergarten teacher Rya Enns came up with the idea for an auction, and with the help of Natalie MacKay and Tasha Tingstad they were able to create the auction on Facebook, which now has more than 800 members in less than two days and continues to grow. There has already been a lot of activity on the page, with people donating a variety of items such as gift cards, gift baskets, services, vacations, concerts, foods, clothing, art and much more, as well as numerous bids on each item.
Duncan is a huge Edmonton Oilers fan, and the overwhelming support from the community has led to the Oilers' customer service team reaching out to Sara Obre through email, saying that they have received multiple inquiries about Duncan from the community which they have forwarded to their community team.
Duncan became an Oilers fan last fall when his school had a book fair. According to Kelli, he really wanted to buy a hockey book and the only one available was a Leon Draisaitl book. From the moment he read the book with his mom, Draisaitl has been his favourite player and the Oilers his favourite team, and he knows everything about them. He also knows who has won the Stanley Cup every year since 1915 and knows how many each team has won, and is hoping the Oilers can complete the 'reverse sweep' against the Florida Panthers to increase their Cup total to six.
"He absolutely loves hockey," Kelli said. "You could ask him any questions regarding hockey and he'll tell you the correct answers. He's a wealth of hockey knowledge."
He also enjoys playing soccer, camping and spending time with his family and best friends.
"Duncan is the funniest, kindest, hockey-loving, most caring kid," Kelli said. "He always makes sure everyone is included in anything whether it's at school, on the ice or the soccer field."
The auction can be found on Facebook at 'Duncan's Journey-Online Auction,' which describes Duncan as a "one-of-a-kind kid" who is kind, caring, empathetic, strong, determined, and, of course, a huge hockey and Oilers fan. Anyone can join and add donations to the group, and bidding is live until 8 p.m. on July 1.
