To the editor:
We want to send out a huge thank you to all of the very generous companies, stores and dentists that have made our ‘Live Love Laugh’ campaign for the Kelowna Women’s Shelter such a success. Alongside my husband Lorne Brooks and my wonderful nurses (due to ALS I need 24-hour nursing care), 2015 marks the ninth anniversary that we have collected toiletries to fill gift bags for women and children at the shelter. Once we reached out to the community and various companies, our project grew exponentially, making over 530 gift packages in the last two years alone.
The companies that have supported our project, donating thousands of their products since 2009, are Beiersdorf Canada (Nivea), Edgewell (Schick, Playtex) and Sunstar Americas (GUM). We have received donations and wholesale pricing from Unipharm Wholesalers in Vancouver. Also, a big shout out to two local companies, Barefoot Venus that has donated hundreds of products for the last two years and the staff of Capri Insurance that donated their ‘dress down fund’ in the past.
Over the years, many local stores (from multiple locations) have generously donated to our project; Save-on-Foods, Walmart, Safeway, Pharmasave, Rexall, Dyck’s Pharmacy, London Drugs, Superstore, Costco, Lakeside Medicine Centre, Cooper’s Foods, Peter’s Independent Grocer and the Hudson’s Bay. The number of contributing dentists has grown and we thank Doctors Leitch, Wiens, Eagleton, Gagner, Grover, Coccaro and Ashley, plus Sunnyside Dental (Doctors Koning and Schader).
We can not emphasize how important the donations from the companies, stores and dentists are to these women and the children they are caring for. We want to thank everyone who sponsored a bag making this project possible. To learn more about the Kelowna Women’s Shelter and how you can support them, please check out their Facebook page or go to their website http://kelownawomensshelter.com/.
Anne Spelliscy, Kelowna