Community helps raise $22,500 for JoeAnna’s House on ‘Better Together Day’

The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group combined the collective power of its two stations 103.1 Beach Radio and Power 104 for the first-ever Better Together Day in support of JoeAnna’s House.

The rallying efforts of the all-day radiothon on Oct. 8 brought the community together and raised an impressive $22,500.

Since opening less than a year ago, JoeAnna’s House has provided a home-away-from-home for hundreds of out-of-town families needing a place to stay close to Kelowna General Hospital where their loved ones receive advanced medical care. Operated by the KGH Foundation, JoeAnna’s House relies solely on the sustained generosity of the community to remain open.

“I am continually awestruck by the generosity shown by our community for JoeAnna’s House,” said a grateful Doug Rankmore, CEO of the KGH Foundation. “The public has been behind the project from the start and this latest outpouring of support once again shows that we are a community who cares.”

Pictured: Corey Fischer, Evening Host on Power 104 FM, Chandel Schmidt, Director Annual Programs KGH Foundation, Doug Rankmore, CEO KGH Foundation, Sue Tyler, Afternoon Drive Host on Power 104 FM.

As the region continues to grow and KGH continues to expand its capacity to offer advanced, specialized medical treatment, the need for JoeAnna’s House has never been greater. As the lead referral hospital for up to 1 million residents in the B.C. interior, at any given time, one in four beds at KGH is occupied by someone outside the Central Okanagan.

“For so many families wanting to maintain a presence at KGH for the period of their loved ones treatment, the travel and lack of affordable short-term accommodation in Kelowna adds significantly to their hardship,” said Darlene Haslock, Manager of JoeAnna’s House. “Because you give we are able to keep JoeAnna’s House running to serve the mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters who come to us, to stay close to their loved ones while they are receiving life-saving medical treatment at KGH.”

The Better Together Day donations rolled in by phone, online, and even in person while being “socially distanced” in the parking lot at the Beach and Power studios on Lakeshore. The day also saw a number of local businesses such as Innov8 and Martin Motorsports make sizable donations, while others including Save-on Foods Orchard Plaza shouted-out fundraising challenges to its sister stores in Merritt, Revelstoke, Vernon, Nakusp, Princeton and Salmon Arm collectively raising $8,000.

“The KGH Foundation wishes to express its sincerest gratitude to the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, and their amazing teams at 103.1 Beach Radio and Power 104 who worked tirelessly to make Better Together Day an outstanding success,” stated a news release from the foundation. “And to all of the individuals and businesses who gave in support of JoeAnna’s House, thank you.”

Since 1978, the KGH Foundation has worked with a generous community to raise funds to support world-class healthcare close to home for a rapidly expanding and diverse population in the interior of BC.”

Today, the KGH Foundation is the lead fundraising organization for Kelowna General Hospital and its associated facilities, JoeAnna’s House, and Central Okanagan Hospice House.