Members of the Penticton & District Stamp Club make a unique donation presentation to the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation. Past-president Gus Boersma (sitting at right) greets Foundation executive director Carey Bornn while marking the club’s 2016 donation to the Penticton Regional Hospital tower campaign.

Talk stamps with any member of the Penticton & District Stamp Club and watch their eyes light up. That same enthusiasm has been transformed into a pledged $30,000 donation to the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation’s $20-million campaign to supply medical equipment for the Penticton Regional Hospital expansion.

Even in these days of email, stamp collectors remain dedicated to their hobby. Gus Boersma, the Penticton club’s past-president and honorary life member, said he started collecting stamps as a child. After taking a break for several years, he rediscovered his passion for the hobby in 1962. “You get hooked on it and you want to do it as often as you can,” he said. “To me, stamp collections are something tangible and maybe you can get some money for it.”