Casinos for cancer – that’s the idea Korean War veteran Jean Pierre Van Eck had about a decade ago. Born in the Netherlands, Van Eck moved to Canada in the 1950s and eventually became president of the Edmonton chapter of the Korean Veterans of Canada Association. A few years ago, he noticed that many of the association’s old-timers were developing cancer. Casino fundraising nights, held a couple times a year in Edmonton, have raised about $40,000 for cancer research and care. But their charity isn’t limited to oncology: other recipients of funds include The Edmonton Food Bank and the Stollery Children’s Hospital. The payoff for Van Eck is obvious: “I’m always glad we can give away the money we raise to people who really need it.”
