Legacy Fund continues to support community services

The Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) Kiwanis Legacy Fund is continuing to pay dividends to local programs and organizations supporting children and youth.

The $4.5-million legacy fund was gifted to the KGH Foundation by the Kiwanis Clubs of Kelowna in 2017.

“The Kiwanis Legacy Fund is an endowed fund,” stated Allison Ramchuk, CEO of the KGH Foundation.

“Meaning that the investment guarantees annual proceeds to support the health and well-being of children and youth in our community, in perpetuity.”

In its first three years, the fund provided $500,000 to local organizations that provide programs and services for area youth.

In the 2022-23 fiscal year, there has been $546,500 distributed through the fund, more than doubling the impact the money has made on the community.

The organizations that have benefited from the legacy fund in the current fiscal year are the Boys and Girls Club Okanagan; the Child Advocacy Centre; the Kelowna branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association; Elizabeth Fry Society; KCR Community Resources; Interior Health’s Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, McNair Unit and Pediatric Department; University of British Columbia Okanagan; and the City of Kelowna.

To celebrate the more than $1-million in grants distributed over the past four years, KGH Foundation Kiwanis Legacy Fund has created a video highlighting grant recipients and the projects supported through these funds.

“I can’t tell you how excited we are – and proud that we have been able to help these organizations move forward and support children and youth in our community,” said Wendy Falkowski, Kiwanis Legacy Fund Committee Chair.

“We are just delighted.”