Staff from CIBC raised $441.35 at a hot dog sale for the B.C. Children’s Hospital and the local Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter on May 10. CIBC workers were stationed in front of the bank from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday at their 100 Mile House location to raise funds for local charities.
The group of volunteers donated all proceeds from the sale. In the past, the staff at CIBC have held similar hot dog fundraisers for the B.C. Children’s Hospital and the United Way, but this was the first time the barbecue was organized with proceeds going towards Big Brothers Big Sisters South Cariboo, an in-school mentoring program that has been running for the past four years in 100 Mile House.
Chris Hewlett was the grill master serving up hot dogs and smokies on Friday, but CIBC also offered pop and chips. Hot dogs were priced at $2, smokies at $4, and pop or chips were purchased for $2. Hot dog or smokie combo meals were also available for a few dollars more.
“We slow cook the onions,” Hewlett explained, as more passersby approached from the street and nearby Farmers’ Market. She served the onions to customers from a cast-iron pan atop the barbecue.
By 11:30 a.m. the fundraiser had already served at least twenty people.
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Garnet Jordan and his mother Jamie hadn’t planned on hot dogs Friday morning, but were drawn in when they attended the Farmers’ Market and saw colourful balloons bobbing in front of the bank.
Jamie Jordan said supporting the CIBC fundraiser was a happy coincidence. She and her son have a more personal reason to support the cause and they were happy to do so.
“Garnet was actually saved by the Children’s Hospital,” Jordan explained.
When he was nearly two years old, Garnet—now 11— experienced kidney failure.
In 2009, Garnet was airlifted from Penticton to Vancouver, where he was placed on life support and dialysis at B.C.’s Children’s Hospital. Today he is healthy, and his mother says the support they received from the Children’s Hospital was incredible.
“The services in B.C. are remarkable really,” said Jordan, “They’re well worth supporting.”
Lori Jensen is a financial services representative at CIBC who has also experienced first hand the benefits of the organizations she and her coworkers chose to support at the barbecue.
Jensen’s son participated in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program where he was mentored for two years at his school. Jensen and her coworker Diana Buurmeester are both happy to be supporting their community and local charities in this way. The staff at CIBC would like to thank Safeway for donating a portion of the food sold at Friday’s fundraiser.
raven.nyman@100milefreepress.net
