A woman who tried to sell raffle tickets around Deans and Bernard Avenues last month was not authorized to do so, say police.
Chilliwack RCMP received a report on Sept. 13 that a suspicious female was selling raffle tickets on behalf of the "Bantam Minor Hockey League."
Door-to-door fundraising is fairly rare, said a member of the Chilliwack Minor Hockey Association, and they only do three activities per season, using strict guidelines.
"In some instances a team may go door to door for a bottle drive, but the CMHA requires each player to wear their jerseys and to be accompanied by a parent at all times," says Jeff Dyck, CMHA Public Relations. "Teams are never authorized to raise funds by sending an adult door to door."
CMHA officials confirmed there is no fundraising campaign active right now, but the group fielded several phone calls and emails regarding this individual, who may have been active in the area since July.
"The woman has claimed that she was with the girls' Bantam team and that there were other single mothers selling tickets in the neighbourhood," said RCMP Cpl. Tammy Hollingsworth.
Witnesses also told police that if the woman was not able to get cash for a raffle ticket she asked them for bottles and cans.
The woman is described as First Nations, in her mid-40s, with black hair in a pony tail, wearing a pink jersey with Vancouver Province or Sun logo on it.
"Chilliwack RCMP patrolled the area at the time of the above reported incident, but were unable to locate the female," she said.
If someone claims to be raising funds for either CMHA or a Chilliwack hockey team and people are unsure if the fundraiser is legitimate, they have several options. They can ask the team manager to see the fundraising request form which should be stamped "approved" by CMHA, send an email to sponsorship@chilliwackminorhockey.com, call the CMHA office at 604-858-6031 or check out their website at www.chilliwackminorhockey.com to see a listing of authorized fundraising activities.
CMHA and all its members would like to thank the public for its continued support of minor hockey in the Chilliwack area.
If anyone has information about this woman or have had a similar incident they are asked to call the Chilliwack RCMP at 604-792-4611 and the Chilliwack Minor Hockey Association at 604-858-6031.