Help Karen Minish Fight

For 30 years,  Karen Minish has been sharing her gifts with the Bow Valley - making us all the richer for it.  From sharing her incredible voice as a soloist with the Bow Valley Chorus, bringing Christmas joy through her carolling quartet, conducting the hospital choir in Banff, performing, or creating and directing the annual BVC Variety Show, creating incredible works of art, sharing her wonderful laugh and friendship, she and her partner John Goulart are integral to our community and its culture. 

And now she needs our help.  On December 24 Karen was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer - small cell sarcoma - neuro endocrinal.  Chemotherapy began on January 5 at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary.   She needs our help so that she can focus all of her strength and energy to fight this terrible disease.  

Even exceptional artists struggle to make ends meet - particularly during times like these.  This illness now means that Karen can't work, and is facing significant costs for treatment and medication.  Every dollar will help John and Karen to fight, and to make their journey just a little bit easier.

Karen and her partner John Goulart are so grateful for any support that you can spare.  Our goal is to raise $10,000 to help them with the considerable costs associated with this fight.

Please consider making a contribution, and sharing this campaign with your friends.  Together, we can do something to make this difficult time just a little bit easier for Karen and her partner John.

Although there is a small administration fee charged by GoFundMe to administer your gift, it is an easy way for you to give, and an easy way to have the funds pooled and transferred directly to John and Karen.  However, if you wish to give directly, they welcome that as well!  Feel free to e-transfer via email at [email redacted], or send a cheque to Box 357, Banff, AB  T1L 1A5.

Whether or not you are able to provide a financial gift, please keep Karen in your thoughts as she fights.


BIO

Karen Joy Minish is a professional singer/actor who has lived in Banff since 1989. Her versatility as a performer has taken her from opera, musical theatre, film, cabaret and to the concert stage, singing in major venues in Canada and the United States. She holds a degree in Dramatic Studies from the University of Winnipeg, as well as a Diploma in Theatre Crafts and Design from The Banff Centre, where she has also been a participant in the Music Theatre, Opera as Theatre, Advanced Studies in Music and Community Musician’s Residency programs.

Karen is originally from Swan River, Manitoba and remains a prairie girl at heart. She is a self taught visual artist and her eclectic creative background also includes for the theatre: designing, building and painting props and stage sets. She has created original design pieces in stained glass and has received many commissions for her whimsical papier maché sculptures. "My paintings are definitely colourful and have been described many times as “looking happy". I like to paint paintings that I would want to be part of, and that look delicious! This is the barometer by which I judge their success. I particularly love to paint the drama of a prairie sky and a night sky filled with stars. These images bring back such happy childhood memories of growing up in the Swan River Valley in Manitoba."