Kelowna

Photo: Contributed - Callum Mathieson

Full tables at the Deepak Binning fundraiser on Saturday.

As the Deepak Binning foundation was celebrating its 12th annual fundraising dinner Saturday night, it received an unexpected boost.

Photo: Contributed - Callum Mathieson

Dancers entertain at the Deepak Binning Foundation fundraiser on Saturday.

Kelowna philanthropist and Kelowna’s former man of the year, Thomas Budd, made an unexpected donation to one of the charities the foundation supports.

Budd announced that he would like to give the East Meets West Orphans Foundation a total $35,000 over three years. The money will go towards supporting a crèche for children of slum dwellers and for life saving surgeries for abandoned children in Kolkata, West Bengal India.

“We will all be eternally grateful for this amazingly generous donation,” said organizer Mohini Singh. “A little bit of money goes a long way in India."

Over 300 people attended the dinner event.

The Deepak Binning Foundation has pledged to give:

• UBC-O $30,000, over three years, towards medical scholarships, to students attending the new medical school
• $5,000 to the Sindi Ahluwalia Hawkins cancer centre
• $5,000 to the Kelowna-based East Meets West Orphans Foundation.