Firefighters assist Burn Fund

Photo: Contributed - West Kelowna Fire Rescue

Firefighters Richard Bliss and Trevor Gates and captain Nathan Pike with a cheque for the BC Burn Fund

Along with many other Professional Firefighters in BC, the West Kelowna Professional Firefighters pledged to raise money in their community which they would donate towards the construction of the new BC Burn Fund Building.

The local Firefighters recently succeeded in achieving their goal of raising $25,000.

The West Kelowna Firefighters used many different fund raising methods but the majority of the funds raised were from the sale of their first annual Firefighter Calendar.

The calendar, put together last fall and sold throughout the community, was a huge success selling over 1500 copies at $10 per calendar.

“It was a huge undertaking but this community has always rallied behind us in our fundraising. It is great to see so much support from the local community. Although we organize it, none of our fundraising happens without the generous support we see from the residents of this community time and time again,” says Firefighter Mike Kay, the local Burn Fund Representative.

“We need to acknowledge the local business community as well. We had great support from businesses who bought advertising which paid for the production, thus enabling all of the proceeds from the sale of the calendars to be donated to charity. We also had great support from businesses who helped sell the calendars, which was key to us achieving our goal. We owe them a huge thank you.”

One of the other initiatives was the Fire and Fashion Show held last May which raised $9,000.

This sold out event was billed as a night out for the ladies and was a huge success.

Plans are underway for this year’s event which will take place May 31. Tickets are available through fire department members or [email protected].  The event is sure to sell out again this year as there is limited seating.