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On July 20th, Kristin (Postill) Holomis and her team paddled the length of Kalamalka Lake (18km) in support of the Okanagan College Foundation’s Sunflower childcare campaign, raising more than $29,000 in just a few weeks.

“Stand Up For” is an annual local fundraising effort by Kristin Holomis and Brittney Page where they paddleboard the length of Kalamalka Lake in support of a chosen charity. This year they paddled for OC’s new Sunflower Childcare Centre, located on the Vernon campus. Scheduled to open in September, The Sunflower Childcare Centre aims to address the critical shortage of affordable childcare spaces in the North Okanagan that can prevent parents from pursuing post-secondary education.

The centre will support 44 kids, specifically 24 infants and 20 three- to five-year olds. It will be run and managed by Maven Lane, a local non-profit who have been providing high-quality care, education and recreational programming for children since 1994.

“We are beyond grateful to Kristin, her paddling team and the Vernon community for raising an amazing $29,000 for the Sunflower Childcare Centre,” says Sasha Carter, manager of development with the Okanagan College Foundation. 

“They say it takes a village to raise a child and we are thankful for the community’s role in helping us open the Sunflower Childcare Centre. Student parents will now be able to drop their children off before heading to class knowing that the community is right behind them supporting their educational dreams.” 

This is the 7th Annual “Stand Up For” fundraising paddle. So far it has raised more than $185,000 for the local community with Okanagan Rail Trail Initiative, KidSport Okanagan, The People Place, Archway Society, Starfish Pack and NOYFSS being their past recipients. 

“I cannot believe we’re in our 7th year of running this fundraiser,” said Holomis. “We are so grateful for the support we receive year after year from our incredible community. The Sunflower Childcare Centre is going to change the lives of many and we’re so humbled to be able to have a small part in bringing it to life. I hope that we can continue to run this paddle for years to come.” 

Event organizers would like to thank the following businesses and donors for offering both donations and matching grant incentives to make the fundraiser such a success: Simolo Customs, R.E. Postill & Sons, Nixon Earthworks, Toro’s Liquor Store, Nixon Wenger, Maxton Industries, Priscilla & Co, Wolf Tree Forestry LTD, Terry & Peter Leggat, Anna Hunt-Binkley & Manse Binkley and Harper Private Wealth.