Tree of Hope Triumphant Success

January 21, 2021

In Fall of 2020 when planning for the next Tree of Hope began, we at the Stober foundation along with the Tree of Hope organizers asked ourselves a simple, but important question: In a uniquely challenging year, how could the Tree of Hope grow in meaning and purpose?

With that question in mind, we came up with a new vision for 2020’s donations – we invited the community to donate to the Child Advocacy Centre as part of the Tree of Hope’s Celebration of Giving, with the commitment from the Stober Foundation to match $100,000 of the funds raised. We wanted the Tree of Hope to be a beacon that everyone could rally around and help raise hope for the most vulnerable children in our community through the Child Advocacy Centre, and we hoped that the community would be interested in participating with us. We were blown away by the response, which was a resounding yes!

None of us could have anticipated the support, the enthusiasm, and the outpouring of community generosity we witnessed through this celebration. Whatever each of us was imagining back in September could never compare with the outcome we have experienced. Our goal of raising $100,000 was surpassed and then doubled with a total of $210,000 in donations.

“When we learned that initial commitment had been surpassed, we made the easy decision to extend our pledge. Today, knowing that we will be matching more than twice what we initially pledged means so much to all of us here. I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the Okanagan community and thankful to live among such caring and giving people,” says Foundation president, Ken Stober.

We are honoured to be continuing the 23-year-old tradition with the Tree of Hope in such a meaningful way by giving to such an incredible and deserving charity. The Child Advocacy Centre supports the 1 in 3 children who are impacted by abuse and neglect in our community. Their work allows children to recover from abusive situations as well as facilitate the justice and healing they so rightly deserve. “We are so thankful for the Celebration of Giving initiative for the amazing opportunity to be this year’s recipient of the Tree of Hope” says the CAC’s Executive Director, Ginny Becker. “The Tree of Hope provided us with a platform to not only raise critical funds, but build awareness through the Okanagan. The response we received was truly overwhelming”. For those wanting to learn more about the Child Advocacy Centre, you can visit their website at www.CACkelowna.com

The Tree of Hope, Stober Foundation, and the Child Advocacy Centre would like to thank the families, individuals, and businesses whose support made this campaign such an overwhelming success and whose generosity will make a substantive difference in the lives of the children who need it the most.