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Kelowna  

Real estate firm donates $100K for toys for kids at Kelowna's hospital

Toys for kids at KGH

Kelowna General Hospital has partnered with Stilhavn Real Estate Services to provide KGH with its very first Toy Havn — a centralized program within the hospital that'll house children's toys, books and crafts.

This new program at KGH will allow hospital staff to have access to these important tools while they try and support young patients in their care.

“Over the past several years, the KGH Foundation has received requests from departments in the hospital for toys and sensory items for young patients,” said Allison Young, CEO of the KGH Foundation.

“With so many requests, we thought it best to streamline the process and create a centralized program where department managers would have access to specific children’s items when they needed them.”

According to the KGH Foundation, Stilhavn Real Estate Services reached out to see how they could become involved in supporting health care close to home.

“We are a community-minded organization and our Okanagan team of agents were looking for a way to support the hospital because it touches all of us, in so many different ways,” said Christy LeGeyt, a local Kelowna agent from Stilhavn.

The KGH Foundation says that in 2021-22, more than 2,300 children were either treated in their emergency department or admitted to the pediatric unit for treatment with an average stay of five days.

“Toys, crafts, books ... play a crucial role in the well-being of children undergoing treatment in the hospital. Toys and games can provide a welcome distraction from potential stress and anxiety associated with medical tests and procedures and help to make an unfamiliar environment a little more friendly and welcoming – and a little less clinical and intimidating," said Jill Sinton, director of clinical operations for KGH's emergency department.

Stillhavn committed $100,000 to establish and support this new initiative, ensuring that the KGH Toy Havn is well-stocked with everything the hospital’s young patients might need.

The KGH Toy Havn is located within the hospital and will collect and house an inventory of age-appropriate toys, games and crafts for distribution throughout the year as needed by hospital departments.



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