The Kelowna General Hospital Foundation is looking for a financial helping hand in the form of six $10,000 sponsorships for a commissioned artwork to be hung above the atrium of the hospital’s new Centennial Tower that will serve as KGH’s new lobby.
The artwork, called Helping Hands, was created by Lower Mainland artist Pavel Barta and features a patient and a family member in the centre surrounded by 14 pairs of outstretched hands.
According to the artist, the hands represent hospital staff and all who have generously donated to make KGH a better place.
“Each pair of hands is different as every person is unique and is able to help in their own special way,” said Barta, a native of the Czech Republic who used to live in the Okanagan.
“Three sets of hands are different and represent the equipment used in the hospital.”
The artwork will be hung from the ceiling above the two-storey atrium in the the soon-to-be opened Centennial tower. The tower is scheduled to open May 27.
According to Natalie Walstrom of the KGH Foundation, 10 pairs of hands (including the patient and family member) have already been sponsored by individuals, families or corporations and the six remaining sponsorship are available for $10,000 each.
She said the money raised will go back into the hospital through the foundation which raises money to buy specialized equipment KGH. The artwork sponsorships are part of the ongoing Take Care, Take Part fundraising campaign, which is trying to raise $6 million for the hospital by the time the new six-storey tower opens later this month.
Each sponsor of a pair of hands will be provided with a replica of a piece of the sculpture cast in bronze and supported on an onyx stand. The sponsors will also be recognized on a plaque to be installed in the new KGH lobby.
