The Better Together campaign to build JoeAnna’s House, a home away from home for families of children having to travel for advanced medical care at KGH, has received a significant gift of $250,000 from the Kelowna Foundation for Hope and Social Innovation (Kelowna Foundation).
The Kelowna Foundation is an organization that unites a wide variety of donors whose chief philanthropic interest lies in advancing the health and wellness of children and youth. Benefactors must show significant expertise in providing services to children who, by circumstances beyond their control, have become vulnerable.
“Our vision is to bring leaders in our community together, so that collectively, our gifts will have maximum impact on the health and quality of life for the children in our region,” says Al Hildebrandt President and Board Director of the Kelowna Foundation.
For Al and his wife Irene, family is everything. As proud parents of three grown children and six grand-children, they are passionate about supporting families through difficult times.
Image: Al Hildebrandt (fourth from right) President of the Kelowna Foundation, with his wife Irene, their children and grand-children.
“JoeAnna’s House promises to be a game-changer for families having to travel to Kelowna for care. Keeping families together is critical. Being together can be the light in those really dark days. Together, we can change everything for these families,” says Hildebrandt.
As Kelowna General Hospital continues to expand its capacity to deliver specialized, advanced medical services to infants and children, an increasing number of beds are becoming occupied by patients from outside the Central Okanagan – which presents significant hardship for families who want to remain close to their children while they are in hospital. While other large provincial referral hospitals in the Lower Mainland and Calgary benefit greatly from Ronald McDonald Houses, currently there is nothing similar for the families of Kelowna General’s out-of-town patients.
“It is incredible what obstacles can be overcome, what we can achieve when we work together,” says Doug Rankmore, CEO of the KGH Foundation. “’We are humbled by the ingenuity, leadership and capacity being demonstrated through the collaborative nature of the Kelowna Foundation.”
“It’s truly inspiring to know we live in a community capable of such vision and action.”
For more information on the Kelowna Foundation for Hope and Social Innovation, or to get involved, visit: https://www.kelownafoundation.com/