Skip to content

Cranbrook Red Cross volunteers awarded plaque for shattering fundraising goal

The volunteer team set out to raise $12,000 and wound up raising over $29,000
8697403_web1_RedCrossPlaqueWEB
The Cranbrook Red Cross volunteer team raised a total of $29,000, shattering their goal of $12,000 and were awarded a plaque celebrating them reaching the highest donation target in the Kootenays. Paul Rodgers photo.

Paul Rodgers

The Canadian Red Cross presented the Cranbrook Red Cross volunteer team with a plaque at The Rockwater Steakhouse on Wednesday, September 27, awarding them for their top fundraising spot. The team, supported by donors in the community, annihilated their fundraising target of $12,000 by raising a grand total of over $29,000.

“It did well comparing to most of the depots,” said Susan Kolebaba. “Some of the other depots came pretty close, just a few percentages out, but someone has to be the winner.”

Kolebaba is the assistant coordinator for HELP client services for the Canadian Red Cross and presented the plaque to the Cranbrook volunteers who beat their fundraising target by the highest margin out of all 13 Red Cross depots in the Kootenays.

“I think that one of the reasons Cranbrook does well is because you have, I think the Fort McMurray fires impacted people here more say than someone who lives in Trail,” Kolebaba explained. “Because you have a fairly sizeable population that are connected to Alberta, so that could be part of it. But also I just think that Canadians are giving people.”

The $29,000 collected will go towards helping volunteers to continue providing health equipment such as wheelchairs, lakers, crutches and bath aids to community members in need, but a portion of it will also be allocated to support people in Fort McMurray who are still recuperating from the catastrophic Alberta wildfires of last 2016.

“There’s a fair bit of work, you’ve got to talk to people well if they;re interested in donating,” said Cranbrook Red Cross volunteer Mary Froese. “I think a lot of people have connections to Fort McMurray so they came in to donate and now just with the BC wildfires that we’ve had lately, we’ve had a lot of donations as well, especially when the fire came to the Kootenays we saw an increase there.”

Froese said she is really happy and proud with the great success accomplished by her team and mentioned that they are always looking for more volunteers. The Cranbrook Red Cross is located in the Baker Street Mall beside the Safeway and they are open from 11:30 to 3:30 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.