By Corey Fischer

Family Donates Over $1M To Rail Trail

May 8, 2018 | 5:19 PM

Photo: Contractor Paul Dick prepares for work along the Okanagan Rail Trail to stabilize and protect vulnerable shoreline areas from high water. (Submitted photo)

A generous donation has the Okanagan Rail Trail just $150,000 from its fundraising goal set two years ago.

Trail Ambassador Brad Clements says a local family with a great history in the valley, is donating “well over a million dollars.”

He says the family’s name isn’t being released at this point.

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“Once we get this final push going, we’ll send out a little story about the family and their history in the Okanagan, and more about the donation. But yes, a very significant donation,” Clements tells Beach Radio News.

The campaign team is hoping to hit the 7.8 million dollar goal by July.

“Our estimate is now is we’re about $150,000 short, so that’s kind of the focus right now; a campaign for $150,000 and then the money is raised, and then the rest of the trail construction can be scheduled,” adds Clements, who has been a part of the initiative since it first began in 2013.

“If we overshoot the target, any surplus funds would be available to trail owner jurisdictions to allocate to trail amenities and infrastructure,” says Duane Thomson, Lake Country Trail Ambassador. “Our communities have provided remarkable support in bringing this dream to life, and we are rewarded by the reaction from so many ecstatic trail enthusiasts.”

The 47 kilometre trail between Coldstream and Kelowna is expected to officially open later this year.

Hundreds of people have been using the trail daily on the Coldstream end, even though its currently closed, waiting for permit approval from the Agricultural Land Reserve.

You can get more information on the project and making a donation at: https://okanaganrailtrail.ca/donate.

by Corey Fischer