PENTICTON, B.C. – Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union, and its philanthropic partner, First West Foundation are donating $61,225 to 180 local charities throughout the Okanagan, Similkameen and Thompson Valley regions, as part of the Simple Generosity #CommentsOfKindness program.
The program encouraged the public to show their appreciation for local charities by nominating them through Valley First’s Instagram and Facebook channels. For each comment mentioning a registered charity operating in Valley First’s trade areas, the First West Foundation made a $25 donation to the charity, up to $2,500. Valley First’s social media followers helped 5 different registered charities reach that maximum donation.
Of all charities supported, the top 10 were considered for a $25,000 donation. The Simple Generosity committee—comprised of a cross-section of employees and board members— used a defined set of criteria to select Discovery House as the $25,000 recipient.
“Wow, we thank you so much. We are trying to build a carriage house and this funding will be a great start towards construction” says Jerome Abraham Discovery House’s Executive Director. “Many people are on our waitlist for long-term care housing that will support their mental health. For us, recovery is about keeping a community connection, and we rely on support from organizations like Valley First, so thank you so much.”
“Congratulations to Discovery house. Your organization does fantastic work here in our community and this donation is well deserved,” says Paulo Araujo, President of Valley First. “On behalf of Valley First and First West Foundation thank you for all you do towards helping our communities thrive.”
The #CommentsOfKindness program ran in communities in B.C. served by First West Credit Union and its divisions, Island Savings, Envision Financial, Valley First and Enderby & District Financial. In total, close to 11,000 “thank-you” comments were received, resulting in $319,675 being distributed to 624 registered charities.