Carey Bornn has quite the interesting – and fulfilling job. In a way, he gets to celebrate Christmas every day – sometimes numerous times a day.

As part of his role as Executive Director of the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation, Bornn travels the South Okanagan speaking to groups, and accepting donations. Everywhere he goes these days, people are giving him a present of sorts.

That was indeed the case Tuesday during the regular meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Oliver.

Bornn and John Moorhouse, in charge of Development and Communications with the Foundation, were in Oliver to update Club Members on the Foundation’s $20-million campaign to supply the medical equipment for the $312.5-million expansion of Penticton Regional Hospital.

“It’s really nice to meet so many people who are chipping in,” said Bornn. “A lot of the service groups are donating a lot (financially), but they’re also donating so much time. And the numbers are not small whenever you go to these Service Clubs. Last night I was at the Breast Survivors to pick up $30,000. It never ends.”

Bornn accepted a cheque for $20,000 at Tuesday’s meeting, pushing the Kiwanis Club of Oliver donation, so far, to $51,000.

“We’re a service club and we appreciate all the donations we get at Kiwanis Market. Those funds go back into the community,” explained Leonard Gebhart, Kiwanis Club of Oliver President. “The Hospital Foundation serves all of the Okanagan, and we felt as a Club we saw it as a great opportunity to do something bigger than we normally would. We do a lot of other smaller donations – but that’s the largest we’ve ever done.”

The Foundation has so far raised more than $12 million in donations and pledges in its $20-million campaign to provide medical equipment for the PRH expansion. Construction is underway and should be complete by early 2019, when work will begin on Phase 2 – a major expansion of the Emergency Department to almost four times its current size.

“A lot of times with campaigns, and I’ve been involved in a few in the past, the last third is harder than the first two-thirds. But there’s still people thinking about it, and hopefully they will move forward,” summarized Bornn. “We want to have everything wrapped up – as far as the campaign and the hospital construction – by the end of 2019. So, people can continue to give right until then.”

For more information, check out: www.sosmedicalfoundation.com.

-Dale Cory