Charity
Kelowna dinner and dance to raise money for orphans in India
KELOWNA - A fundraising dinner for a local orphan’s foundation is being held in Kelowna ahead of the start of the Indian Festival of Lights. Diwali, or the Festival of Lights, starts on Nov. 11 this year, but the Kelowna-based East Meets West Orphans Foundation dinner and dance will take place a month earlier, on...
A Tower of Care completed one donation at a time in Vernon
VERNON - From people donating to ‘light a bulb’ on the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Christmas tree to volunteers selling second hand clothing, the community has come together for health care. The Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation announced Wednesday, Sept. 23, that enough donations have been received to complete the top two floors of the Polson Tower...
Mom raises $14K for Cuddle Cots across Thompson-Okanagan
WEST KELOWNA – What started as an idea to bring to Kelowna General Hospital a device which gives parents of stillborn children a few extra days with their child will now help families across the entire Thompson-Okanagan. In less than three months West Kelowna resident Kristin Esmail has raised enough money to buy four Cuddle...
Sons of Anarchy actors coming to Konquer Kelowna
KELOWNA – Two actors from the hit TV show Sons of Anarchy will be in Kelowna for a charity fundraiser later this month on August 15. Kim Coates, who played Alex “Tig” Trager, and Theo Rossi, better known as Juan Carlos “Juice” Ortiz, will be at Konquer Motorcycles on August 15 to help raise money for...
No one to organize this year’s Terry Fox Run in Vernon
VERNON - Vernon does not yet have an organizer for this year’s Terry Fox Run, and that’s putting the event in jeopardy on its 35th anniversary. The Terry Fox Foundation is spreading the word there is currently no run organizer in Vernon after the previous volunteer stepped down for work and personal reasons. The event...
Kelowna charity sending aid to Nepal
KELOWNA – A local charity that helps marginalized children around the world is collecting funds for displaced residents of Nepal after the worst earthquake to hit the country in nearly a century. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck near the capital of Kathmandu Saturday, April 25. The most recent numbers show more than 4,600 dead, but with...
Mamas for Mamas to host charity gala
KELOWNA – A fast growing group of Okanagan moms who provide help and support for other moms in the area will hold their first ever fundraising gala this fall. And they are looking to the public for help with auction items. Mamas for Mamas founder Shannon Christensen says the group has grown so quickly that...
ReStore opens Kelowna location
KELOWNA – After a very successful year in West Kelowna, Habitat for Humanity has opened another ReStore in the Central Okanagan, this time in Kelowna. Executive Director Deb Guthrie says the Kelowna ReStore, which takes in items donated from the public, resells them and uses the profits to build homes for families in need, is even bigger...
Run Like the Irish to raise money for charity
KELOWNA – Despite the dreary weather conditions there were lots of smiling faces for the first annual Run Like the Irish walk and run in Kelowna today. The Kelowna Professional Firefighters’ Chartable Society event on the Mission Creek Greenway, Saturday, March 14, raises money for local charities, according to the organization’s website. “100 per cent...
Charitable concern fulfills daily need in the city
PENTICTON - The Christmas season and the accompanying generosity and goodwill that goes along with it has been over for a couple of months now, but that doesn’t mean the need for charity has diminished in the community. Whether its Christmas or not, those in need can continue to count on the Penticton Community Soupateria...
Lahey and Randy from Trailer Park Boys in Kelowna this week
KELOWNA – Two beloved actors from the Canadian cult TV show The Trailer Park Boys are coming to Kelowna Thursday. The actors who play the drunken trailer park manager Jim Lahey and his burger-loving, beer-bellied sidekick Randy will be making an appearance at Kelowna’s Habitat Feb. 19 at 9 p.m. The 'adults only' show will...
How local Mamas helped a new Kelowna family overcome misfortune
KELOWNA – When Nelly Barclay talks about her family’s first week in Kelowna, she starts to cry. A new, non-profit group called Mamas for Mamas came to their aid when an accident left the family with little else but the clothes they were wearing. “I can’t even put it into words,” she says. “I can...
Local support group for mamas growing fast
KELOWNA – Shannon Christensen’s house isn’t cluttered with old baby things. She’s given them all away. She’s the founder of a relatively new non-profit organization that started in Kelowna last April. Mamas for Mamas is a network of caring mothers who look out for each other and give support whenever it’s needed. Since starting in...
Upper Room Mission back in business
VERNON – Almost 8 weeks after a devastating flood closed the doors at Vernon’s Upper Room Mission, the facility reopens Monday, Jan. 26. A pipe burst on the top floor of the soup kitchen on 27 Avenue Dec. 2, setting off the sprinkler system and doing major damage. “Our first meal will be served at...
Okanagan Landing firefighters leave lasting legacy
VERNON - The Okanagan Landing Volunteer Firefighters Association may not be fighting fires anymore, but it’s found a way to continue its longstanding tradition of community service. When its fire contract with the City of Vernon wasn’t renewed in 2012, members began dissolving the association and transferring funds to non-profits. “We looked at number of...