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Hospice House room / photo submitted
Household and capital needs

Drive-thru fundraiser for hospice

Oct 21, 2022 | 3:00 PM

You can get a lot things at a drive-thru — coffee, food and even a bottle of wine — and on Saturday (Oct. 22), people can also give and get at a drive-thru.

North Okanagan Hospice Society (NOHS) is holding its first ever Stop, Drop and Donate fundraiser presented by Orchard Valley Retirement Centre in the Lake City Casino parking lot from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The first 100 donors will receive $10 in free play at the casino as a thankyou for their donations.

NOHS has established a wish list of items ranging from products used on a daily basis like boost and tetra-packs of juice, to larger capital items like new appliances and countertops, the list can be viewed at https://nohs.ca/uploads/files/NOHS-Donation-Wish-List.pdf.

People are encouraged to provide items from the wish list or gift cards for garden, grocery, hardware and retail. Financial donations will also be accepted on site.

The NOHS kitchen and household expenses are about $1,000 a week to provide guests with wonderful home cooked meals and baked goods.

“We appreciate the community’s ongoing support for NOHS, it wouldn’t be possible to provide the current level of service without the generosity of our citizens and businesses,” Lisa Matthews NOHS Executive Director said.

NOHS receives partial funding from Interior Health but is 100 percent reliant on fundraising and grants for operating and capital costs of most of its programs amounting to nearly $700,000 annually.

Major capital costs are also on the horizon, as the current facility opened in 2001 as a six bed facility and increased to 12 beds in 2008, and requires some significant upgrading.

NOHS operates a 12-bed end-of-life palliative facility, provides respite care, grief and bereavement counseling to over 1,000 individuals annually, community outreach and education, and NavCare to assist individuals navigating the complexities of the health care system.

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