On Saturday night Walker Place was the home to the first-annual Southwest Crisis Services "Igniting Change" Sports Dinner & Auction.

Hundreds of people attended to raise funds for the Southwest Crisis Services as well as listen to the guest speaker, 15-year NHL veteran Wendel Clark.

Heather Lennox is the executive director for Southwest Crisis Services, and said with the event being the first of its kind, she didn't know what to expect, but the event did surpass any expectations she had.

"It was amazing. We went in a little apprehensive, but what a wonderful crowd, great sponsors, great individuals from our community, good supporters and individuals pitching in to do some volunteer work for us, so it was amazing," she said. "It's the first event, so you're not really sure how it's going, and I'm just so pleased. The atmosphere in the room was amazing, people are having fun, people have stuck around and really are enjoying the evening, so I'm very, very pleased with how the event went."

Lennox said that they wanted to host the event because it's something they thought could be a big success.

"It's something we could do for the community because the community gives so much to us, but we also need to raise about $130,000 a year to provide the core services that we provide right now," she said. "So partly it's money to maintain our services."

Lennox continued and said that it wasn't all about raising money, but also awareness.

"Awareness is key. We know that one in three individuals in Saskatchewan encounter interpersonal violence or abuse and awareness and education about domestic violence is key," she said. "The more people that know and can support individuals that may be encountering it and going through or know where to refer people to, the better off our society will be, and we know that healthy families brings healthy communities."

The event featured a dinner, live and silent auction, and then stories from Clark before a Q&A period where fans got to ask the former Toronto Maple Leafs captain questions.

The auction items were all donated which Lennox said just shows how supportive this part of the country is.

"We come from a very amazing community and a very amazing southwest Saskatchewan, and we would not be able to offer the programs that we offer without the individuals of southwest Saskatchewan, so it's just amazing."

The auction items included a signed Joe Sakic Team Canada jersey, an old Yankee Stadium seat, a Marc Giordano signed glove, and a signed Clark jersey as well as many more sports and non-sports items for those who attended to walk away with.