Over $100,000 has been raised for Campbell River’s Qwalayu House from Radiothons with Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island (CHFVI) and Jet FM.
The Radiothon returned for its second fundraiser event to support Qwalayu House. The home runs off of donations and provides a home away from home for North Island residents accessing health care in Campbell River.
The home is owned and operated by the CHFVI. It has been open for nearly a year, and they say over that time 46 babies have been welcomed by mothers staying at the house.
Around $450,000 is required to run the home every year.
CHFVI capital campaign manager Maria Martins says the fundraisers are important to support the home and its functions.
“These fundraisers are vital to the work that we do, we really rely on community partners to help educate and share the great work that the foundation does across the island,” said Martins. “All the funds that were raised support any family that stays at Qwalayu House.”
“The house is staffed 24/7 by foundation employees, which means if there’s an emergency in the middle of the night or if a family needs accommodation, they can just show up and someone’s there to meet them.”
Martins says the house is important to others who may have to travel a long time to get the health care they need.
She thanks everyone who came and donated and hopes they learned about a new service in their community.
“I want to say thank you to everyone who donated, it’s really because of [them] that ‘When Pigs Fly Radiothon’ was such a huge success,” she said. “I also want to say thank you to everyone who listened, we’re super grateful that you tuned in, and I hope you learned something about Children’s Health Foundation or Qwalayu House that you didn’t know before.”
Donations to CHFVI can be made online by visiting islandkidsfirst.com, or by stopping by Willows Market in Campbell River.
