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BGC Okanagan receives massive donation to help fight youth homelessness

The organization painted their door orange as part of Home Depot’s Orange Door Project
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Jeremy Welder, BGC Okanagan CEO (left) and Jarrod Stocker, BGC Okanagan Facilities and Transportation Manager (right) painted the door leading to the youth shelter at the Downtown Youth Centre in Kelowna. (Submitted photo)

The Okanagan Boys and Girls Club has painted their front door orange, as a reminder of the kindness of the community that uplifts them.

The BCG Okanagan’s Youth Shelter Downtown and the Westside Youth centers have been fighting youth homelessness since 1959. It provides life-saving services, educational programs and a safe space for young people in need. One in five people that experience homelessness are youth, and not many have the resources to turn their lives as they grow up.

This is where the Orange Door Project comes in.

The bi-annual fundraiser run by the Home Depot Canada Foundation has donated $300,000 to the BCG Okanagan over the past decade. At the checkout, customers can add a $2 donation to their bill or donate online between now and August 1. Of the money raised, 100 per cent will stay local and benefit youth through improvements to BCG Okanagan housing facilities and skill development programs.

The Home Depot Foundation kicked off this year’s fundraiser with a $50,000 donation directly to BGC Okanagan, which inspired them to paint the door Home Depot Orange in appreciation.

“Over the last 10-plus years we have been so fortunate to work with our local stores and receiving the exceptional support from the Home Depot Canada Foundation,” says Jeremy Welder, BGC Okanagan CEO.

READ MORE: Free community activities return to Kelowna’s parks

READ MORE: Kelowna company to donate 5,000 slices of pizza to the homeless


@_isabellaggrace
isabella.harmel@kelownacapnews.com

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