Fundraisers say YES they can
Healthy kids centre one-third of the way to $3M target
Exactly one month after launching the YES Project youth centre fundraising campaign, the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen is celebrating hitting the $1-million mark.
“Every dollar we get from fundraising brings us a step closer to this goal we’ve been working towards for so many years now,” said Sarah Wood, a Grade 11 student at Princess Margaret Secondary and YES Project youth adviser.
“Penticton is a very generous community,” added Judy Lloyd, fundraising chairperson for the campaign.
“We obviously aren’t done yet, but being one-third of the way to our $3-million goal after 30 days is fantastic.”
The community foundation will take possession of the building at 501 Main St. on Jan. 15.
“We are really excited to get started with the building,” said Aaron McRann, executive director of the Community Foundation of South Okanagan Similkameen.
“We are in design meetings with our second floor tenants who are very eager to move in as soon as possible. It’s also amazing to have Foundry Penticton as an anchor tenant on the main floor of the building.”
Foundry Penticton, opening in late 2018, will be run by the Penticton and District Community Resources Society.
The youth centre will be a safe place where young people can come for a range of resources and supports that will help them to thrive, gain self-esteem and become healthy adults.
The centre will include things such as access to supports for mental, physical and sexual health, and addictions, and serve as an access point to other social, psychological and recreational resources for young people.
The new Penticton youth centre will offer one-stop support for both young people and their guardians.
For example, when a young person needs help with a mental health crisis, there will be services for both youth and their guardians on how to navigate the health-care system, in addition to offering useful tools and resources to cope with other challenging situations that may arise.
With the campaign well underway, the fundraising committee will continue to reach out to the community for additional support.
The community foundation is accepting donations and can issue charitable tax receipts. Donations can be made at cfso.net or by calling the foundation office at 250-4939311.