To the editor:
On Monday, June 17, our Rutland Hospital Auxiliary Charity Shop monthly meeting and annual Chinese takeout lunch, hosted by Joyce and Ben Lee, was held.
On hand for the lunch and meeting were two representatives of the Kelowna General Hospital Auxiliary board.
One representative for the board who spoke told us that changes were on the way. Cameras were to be installed, which we were aware of and approved, but an additional camera was to be located over the sorting tables.
In addition, RCMP background checks are to be mandatory for all new volunteers and that the volunteers are to pay the cost.
There were many taken aback faces. An 80-plus lady stated that she didn’t see how she could work under these conditions to which the co-ordinator replied: “Do you want to resign? I can find a replacement for you.”
Volunteers left the meeting with sad and perplexed faces.
The aftermath was that many volunteers took holidays, some took leave or others just didn’t show up. We were all like a large family held together by our president.
We all are deeply sorry for Joyce and Ben Lee who gave so much of their time and talents to a store that will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. We were all so proud of the many thousands of dollars donated to the hospital in 2012.
Bettie Fuhrmann,
Kelowna
