Last day to support Penticton Provides

Today is the last day to contribute to the Penticton Provides campaign.

Penticton Provides started on Nov. 26 and the fundraiser has exceeded its goal in food and cash donations but is still short for toys.

Toys can be dropped off at Pen Hi, Princess Margaret Secondary as well as the elementary and middle school locations in our city.

Also accepting donations are Save-On-Foods, Safeway, Walmart, Superstore and IGA.

The goal this year was to collect 1,000 gifts and 10,000 food items while also collecting $20,000, 100 per cent of which is spent within this community.

The community has exceeded their food goal, collecting 12,266 non-perishable food items.

The goal was for $20,000 cash donations and the current total stands at $21,500.

This campaign is student-led, with teens doing most of the heavy lifting, but with the whole community getting involved, said Pen Hi vice-principal Bo Boxall.

For the past 25 years, Pen High and Maggie Secondary students have organized the 10,000 Tonight food drive and the Toys for Tots to Teens at Christmas time. For everyone’s health and safety, they had to cancel the events and pivot to save the important fundraisers. That’s how Penticton Provides was developed, with numerous businesses getting involved and having drop off boxes.

From the support of local Rotary Clubs, the Okanagan Hockey Academy and other organizations to elementary and middle school food drives to businesses providing big cheques to the cause, the new fundraising effort of Penticton Provides has been a big success, said Boxall.

The Penticton Salvation Army said the need is great this year because of the pandemic and this effort will go a long way to help.