November is here and that means we are starting to prepare for our big holiday event the Jingle Bell Build! There is still time to register for this fun filled event that takes place on the 21st November at the Laurel Packing House and like last year there will be a friendly competition for the bragging rights of best gingerbread house in the valley. There is still time to enter your teams and join in the fun!
The online 50/50 has exceeded the 2023 December jackpot by a mile! With many weeks to the draw date the winners share has plenty of time to grow and will be a great gift for the lucky ticket holder. It currently stands at $83,450!
Earlier this month I attended the annual Gibson Custom Homes Gala in support of Habitat. Held at the Kelowna Yacht club, this well attended event was not just a fantastic evening, there were several ways for the guests to join in the fundraising. We are delighted to share that a total of $15,000 was raised for Habitat Okanagan, a huge thank you to Darcy Gibson and Naleesa Gonsalves for their time organizing this event and ongoing support of our work.
Through the sales of jigsaws, that they designed and printed, thanks Big Steel Box for their help with this and a matching grant Rotary Now! Kelowna contributed $26,700 to the cost for the Lake Country landscaping. A big thank you to Jim Hawkins, their President, and the rest of the club for this amazing donation.
Our ReStores have Christmas decorations on sale right now! You would be amazed by the number of decorations that have been donated over the last year! Our volunteers work hard to check and prepare everything before it goes on sale. There are trees, reindeer, Santa’s’ garlands, wreaths, tinsel and baubles galore, you will not find better deals to decorate your home this holiday season than shopping at the Okanagan ReStores.
Another piece of good news – we have been selected as one of the top three finalists in Kelowna Chamber of Commerce’s Excellence in Environmental Impact 2024 Awards. The winners will be announced at the event on the 15th November, fingers crossed!
Have a great November.
Andrea Manifold
CEO Habitat Okanagan
