Staff at the Voyager RV Centre in Lake Country gathered for the final cheque presentation on Sept. 1. as part of the companies 35th-anniversary Voyager Care initiative.
The campaign kicked-off at the beginning of 2019 with the goal of raising $100,000 for local charities and this August, following a delay due to COVID-19, the final donation of $14,385 was presented to the newly opened Child Advocacy Center (CAC) of Kelowna.
“After we went through the closure with COVID-19, we knew now more than ever we needed to come back and not only complete our goal but continue to support the community that has so generously supported us now for 36 years,” said Voyager RV vice president Jason Friesen.
The CAC of Kelowna opened in January with the goal of providing a centre of leadership and promoting excellence in child abuse services, research, training and education — a collective community response to protecting children from abuse.
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Due to event cancellations, the newly formed organization has relied heavily on donations from the community to provide support for at-risk children and youth within Kelowna and the surrounding communities.
“What we have built is an interdisciplinary response to child abuse and neglect,” said CAC executive director, Ginny Becker.
“It changes everything to have a place that was built for children. This is a big change for kids. We’ve built a space where they feel safe and important and we can’t do it without donations like this. To see an organization that imbeds this type of giving into their culture is extraordinary, and know the work you’ve done here puts you by our side every day when the door opens and a child walks through.”
During the campaign, each department within Voyager was committed to making a donation for every RV sold. The latest donation was raised through RV sales during the month of July, which just happened to be a record sales month for the company.
“We were thrilled with the amount of the final donation,” said Friesen “It was an excellent way to wrap up the campaign and to celebrate and thank the Voyager Staff who have worked so hard to help us achieve our goal.”
The CAC presentation marked the eighth donation as part of the Voyager Cares Campaign and also helped achieve the final goal of raising over $100,000, with the final total reaching $103,635.
Over the past year and a half, the campaign has supported the Central Okanagan Food Bank, BC Heart and Stroke Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society of BC, BC Cancer Foundation, Mamas for Mamas, ALS Society of BC, Kelowna Women’s shelter, and the most recent recipient, the CAC of Kelowna.
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