VERNON, BC - April 19, 2014 - The inaugural Splash of Colour Family Fun Run organized by Easter Seals took place in Kelowna and Vernon this weekend with approximately 1,100 participants in total bursting through clouds of bright colours! Funds raised will help send kids with disabilities to attend Easter Seals Camp Winfield this summer.

Stephen Miller, president and CEO Easter Seals BC/Yukon said, "It was great to see so many smiling colourful faces and costumes at our inaugural events in both cities!” Easter Seals BC/Yukon also known as the BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities has helped children with disabilities and their families for more than 60 years. “As a not-for-profit organization we rely on the generous support of corporate sponsors, local media, donors, event participants and volunteers to help make our events successful. Like many not-for-profits, stretching every dollar as far as possible has become a way of life, and without the funds raised through events like Splash of Colour, we would not be able to continue to operate our three specialized camps and our Easter Seals House in Vancouver. "

"We raised approximately $95,000 in total for both cities with Kelowna coming in around $52,000 and Vernon doing extremely well at an estimated $43,000! These totals include the generous contributions from presenting sponsor Century21 of $20,500 in Kelowna and $20,602 in Vernon," said Miller.
Bill Hubbard, broker owner of Century21 in Vernon said, “2014 marks the 35-year anniversary of the partnership between Century21 in North America and Easter Seals. We believe in the Easter Seals philosophy of giving a kid a chance to just be a kid for this one week of the year under the very competent supervision of trained counsellors and volunteers." Kim Heizmann, managing broker of Century21 added, "Camp Winfield has been our charity of choice for many years. It has been heartwarming to listen to the experiences of kids and their families and to see the tremendous support from the community of Vernon with this inaugural Splash of Colour Run. We had more than 400 participants which is fabulous! "

Prize category winners in Vernon were: Most Funds raised by a Team: M&M; Most Funds raised by an Individual: Kerri Murphy ; First Home: Liam McGrath; Most Outrageous Costume by a Team: Team Teag; Most Outrageous Costume by an Individual : Peter Ortman; Most Creative Team Name: Vicious and Delicious and Most Colourful Individual: Sadie Quinton.
Sarah Rangin won the lucky draw for two return air tickets from Kelowna to Whitehorse, sponsored by Air North.

The Easter Seals Splash of Colour Fun Run in Vernon was made possible by the support of presenting sponsor Century21 and various individuals, businesses and community organizations. In addition to cash and donations in kind, fundraising and volunteering by individuals, the following organizations were key contributors: Air North, Avalon Rentals, New Horizon Productions (NHP), Interior Savings, White House Mortgages and Royal Bank of Canada.

Media outlets sponsoring the events include Global Okanagan, Kelowna Capital News, Vernon Morning Star, Sun FM 99.9 and SunFM105.7, Castanet and Shaw- go! Okanagan. Great support has also been received from many others.

Gifts in kind were donated by Allan Francis Pringle Lawyers, Atlantis Waterslides, Bin There Dump That, Centre of Gravity, Domino’s Pizza, Jacqui Hughes, Lions Clubs of Lake Country and Vernon, RBC Cup Hockey Canada, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Safeway, Sparkling Hill Resort, Starbucks Coffee, SunRype, Vital Water, Wilde Imagination and Zumba with Sareena.

More information about the Easter Seals Camps is available at: http://www.eastersealscamps.ca/

Media Enquiries
Jeanette Hoft, Redthirteen Communications

MEDIA AND SOCIAL MARKETING
2014 Easter Seals Splash of Colour (Kelowna and Vernon)
(250) 215-3623
[email protected]