Thousands raised in memory

Photo: Contributed

Kristen Porrelli

A local lawyer is looking to donate even more funds to the Kelowna Women's Shelter this year in memory of his daughter.

Kristen Porrelli died in July 2014 at the age of 22. At the time, her family asked friends and family to donate to the shelter in lieu of flowers, raising thousands of dollars.

This December, Barry Porrelli is looking to raise even more cash in memory of his daughter.

He kicked off the fundraising campaign with a $5,000 donation to the Kristen Porrelli Shelter Legacy Fund from his law firm, with the goal of raising $25,000.

He's well on his way to meeting that goal, already raising $22,000 by Friday.

“It really is humbling and inspiring that something so beautiful, which will change lives, can come out of something so tragic,” said Karen Mason, Kelowna Women's Shelter executive director.

The shelter provides emergency and transitional housing for women and their children who've experienced abuse in Kelowna, along with food, clothing, counselling support and preventative education programs.