Foundation gala raises $1.6M
Rob Gibson - Sep 13, 2022 - Get Involved

Photo: Contributed

The Kelowna General Hospital Foundation’s Heart of Gold gala made a triumphant return over the weekend.

The gala took place Saturday and by the end of the evening managed to raise $1,600,001 to help establish a Centre of Excellence in Brain Health at KGH.

“It is an area of health care that is vitally important,” KGH Foundation CEO Allison Ramchuk said.

“Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, ALS, Alzheimer’s and dementia are devastating to those who are suffering, and their families. KGH is now home to some very bright and ambitious neurologists. We have an opportunity to establish KGH as a hub for world-class research, innovation and most critically, delivery of care close to home for those in our region who are living with, or will develop, these diseases.”

The event has been on hold for the past four years and was hosted at the new O’Rourke Family Estate Winery in Lake Country.

“It was perfect,” says Lynn Archibald, the creative director for the event for the past 14 years. “The theme this year was ‘Pushing Boundaries,’ and that is exactly what we are all doing.”

Dr. Devin Harris, executive medical director for Interior Health and an emergency physician at KGH reflected, “we have learned many things over the past two years. It’s time to support the overall sustainability of our health system, including the extraordinary people working in it, if we hope to move past the challenges we are facing.”

The gala’s title sponsor, Tom Budd, of the Thomas Alan Budd Foundation said, “In the past, giving has been my lifeline. Even as I face so much uncertainty in my own life, I hold on to faith that if we just give more than we take, we have a life worth living.”


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