The event, called The Great Foundry Breakfast Challenge, dubbed a “Fun’d’ raising Festival” sold over 450 breakfasts totalling $22,237 in support of the wellness and mental health initiatives at Foundry Kelowna, which the Stober Foundation matched dollar for dollar, bringing the total to $44,474 raised.
When Doak Shirreff was planning their 5th annual breakfast fundraiser, they decided to literally take it to another level by hosting the breakfast event at the top of one of the Landmark District parkades. “We were determined to make up for the two lost pandemic years, and raising this much money for Foundry Kelowna filled the souls of all of us at Doak Shirreff,” said Christy Lovig, Partner at Doak Shirreff and organizer of the event. “I've long had an emotional connection to Foundry. In 2016, I received the news that a friend’s daughter had died by suicide at the age of 18. Shortly thereafter, I heard the first rumblings of a youth mental health initiative that was to open under the banner of Foundry Kelowna. The resources and support that Foundry provides were exactly the form of “upstream solution” I felt had been missing in our community, and something I wish had been present in my youth. It’s been too many decades of staying silent on the mental health of our youth, myself included. And since I couldn’t #getloud in my youth, I’m so proud to advocate for wellness and mental health for today’s youth.”
Doak Shirreff has passionately supported this cause since 2017, when they hosted a birthday brunch fundraiser at the Eldorado in 2017. In 2018 and 2019, the event became a Pancake breakfast fundraiser at Foundry in 2018 & 2019, when SPINCO also came on board to help fundraise for 2019 & 2020. In total, nearly $110,000 has been raised in support of the mental health initiatives Foundry Kelowna spearheads in our community.
“When a community comes together, great things happen. Wednesday's fundraiser, which took place in our very own Landmark District, once again reaffirmed what our generous community can achieve when we rally together,” stated Ken Stober. “Through their invaluable collaborative work, CMHA Kelowna and The Foundry play an integral role for countless individuals and families throughout our community, especially during some of the most important and pivotal moments of their lives. Every family, including ours, has been touched by mental health. Organizations like these, and the vital programming they offer, are incredibly important. It is our privilege to be able to support them and align ourselves with the work they do to serve our community. We humbly thank them for their tireless work and honor the event organizers, sponsors, and Landmark District community for coming together for such a great cause.”
“Seeing the incredible support from our community for this event is both humbling and inspiring,” says Mike Gawliuk, CEO of CMHA Kelowna. “A number of our programs and services are dependent on fundraised dollars and the proceeds of this event will go a long way to helping the work of Foundry continue. We are so grateful for the many people, sponsors and donors who made this event possible.”