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(UPDATE: Oct. 15 @ 5:00 pm) - Yesterday the generous community of Kelowna came together to raise a total of $66,599 to support the much-beloved home away from home for families of regional patients requiring advanced medical care at Kelowna General Hospital.
The second annual Better Together Day kicked off bright and early, and saw dozens of locals come by JoeAnna's House to make a donation and pick up their Drive-Thru breakfast, sponsored by the community’s local Save-on-Foods stores.
Orchard Plaza Save-on-Foods Manager, Scott Nazaruk was personally dishing out hot breakfast's to people who showed up to support the cause.
“It was awesome!” says Scott enthusiastically. “It was truly heart-warming to see so many folks taking time out of their day to come down and give to support this incredibly important resource for families.”
Donations rolled in from many local businesses, and made the cheery fall day one to remember.
“It literally brings tears to my eyes,” says Darlene Haslock, Manager of JoeAnna’s House. “For the families that stay here, this becomes home. And it’s all made possible by people they will never meet.”
“We are always better together.”
(ORIGINAL STORY: Oct. 13 @ 1:30 pm) - Kicking off bright and early at 7 am on Oct. 14, Better Together Day is the second annual day of giving in support of JoeAnna’s House.
All day long, people can show up to support the much needed home away from home for families of out of town KGH patients, and are encouraged to make a donation.
The one day fundraising event is providing many opportunities for the community to get involved this year.
Save-on-Foods is hosting a by-donation drive thru breakfast from 7am to 9am at JoeAnna’s House, a drive by donation site just outside of the home from 6am to 6pm, and a food truck and live music between 11am and 2pm.
"Come by our drive thru donation station and give in person at JoeAnna’s House. We’d love to see everyone!” says Bettina Muller, Events Manager for the KGH Foundation. “Or, it’s as easy as giving a gift online!”
Since they opened in November of 2019, JoeAnna’s House has provided a safe haven for hundreds of regional families needing a place to stay close to KGH while their loved ones access advanced medical care.
At any given time, one in four beds at KGH is occupied by someone outside of the Central Okanagan, and for many families making the trip to Kelowna to support those closest to them has become significantly harder with the lack of affordable short-term accommodation in the city.
JoeAnna’s House relies solely on the generosity of the community to remain open.
“Once they walk into JoeAnna’s House, you can visibly see the stress coming off of them. They wake up knowing that we’re taking care of them, so they can focus on taking care of their loved ones,” says Darlene Haslock, Manager of JoeAnna’s House.
“The impact of giving to JoeAnna’s House is knowing that you are supporting a family, at probably the worst time in their life,” says Darlene. “It’s knowing that you are putting a roof over somebody’s head when the last thing they need to worry about is where they are going to sleep at night.”
Learn more about Better Together Day here, and those looking to donate to the cause can click here.
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