It can be pretty easy to take things for granted.

We get up in the morning, have a quick breakfast, head out to work. People at work are pretty good to be around…we spend all day there, then head back home for a nice supper, watch some TV, hang out with the kids and have a restful sleep.

That’s the way most people live around here.

Or is it?

Oh, except for the elderly lady down the road that slipped on the ice and broke her hip. I guess, the government would be looking after her. The healthcare system covers all that.

Doesn’t it?

Well, ok. The kids in the school hockey team need uniforms and equipment. Not everyone can afford everything, so probably the school board would chip in and pick up the slack.

Yeah, right.

The government can’t do everything.

If a community is successful, it’s with the support of local heroes who step up and make things right when no one else will.

Anyone can be in a position to need other people’s help. You might be doing well today, but tomorrow your spouse gets cancer, your child gets a puck in the head or a neighbor becomes homeless because of a drug addiction.

Happens every day.

And every day, someone in the community steps up to help raise money for cancer research, someone goes door to door in the dead of winter to raise money for the heart and stroke foundation, and someone volunteers at the YMCA child care centre where kids can have fun, find support, make friends and reach their full potential.

But that’s not the whole story. In reality, when local volunteers step up to support an elderly person, someone who has no home, or a young person looking for guidance so they can have a successful career, they can only do it when others provide the financing and organizational support in the background.

The Evergreen Foundation was established to support local heroes who spend their valuable time, money and energy to help those who can’t help themselves.

We are fortunate to live in a community where so many people are willing to lend a helping hand in the community. The Evergreen Foundation is committed to supporting as many people as possible in any way they can.

At the time of this writing the Evergreen Foundation supports the following organizations:

Accelerate Okanagan
BC Cancer Foundation
Brain Trust Canada
Canadian Cancer Society
Canadian Mental Health Association
College of the Rockies
Heart and Stroke Foundation
Kelowna Art Gallery
Kelowna Christian School
Kelowna Food Bank
Kelowna General Hospital Foundation
Kelowna Rockets
Okanagan College Foundation
Rotary Club of Kelowna
Salvation Army
Terry Fox Foundation
United Way
YMCA of Okanagan

If you have a community support project in mind, the Evergreen Foundation may be able to help you with their matching donation program. Simply go to our website (https://evergreenmaintenance.ca/) and fill out the contact form and let us know what you want to do.

We will certainly consider it and do our best to support all efforts to create and maintain a healthy, prosperous community in the Okanagan.