Community Support
Stober family invests in the future of health care in the Okanagan
April 29, 2020
The Okanagan College Foundation has received a landmark gift to the Our Students, Your Health campaign, which will help support the training of the Okanagan’s frontline health care professionals for generations to come. The Stober Foundation is committing $500,000 over the next five years to support the development of a state-of-the-art Health Sciences Centre at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus, which will train 450 students per year over the next 40 years. In recognition of this leadership gift, Okanagan College Foundation is ...
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Postcard Project raises funds and connects others by mail
April 28, 2020
A new initiative from an Okanagan College staff member is not only stamping out quarantine blues, but raising funds for much-needed mental health resources. Katie Maryschuk works in the Public Affairs department, tasked with updating the Okanagan community about news and events happening at the College. In her spare time, she collaborates on creative projects with two friends, and the trio had been discussing earlier this year new ways of sharing their work with the online community. That’s when the idea struck of how she could ma...
Read more...Haircuts for Health Care launches
April 24, 2020
College president steps up with 5k incentive Shaggy beards and untamed locks are an inevitable consequence of almost six weeks of physical distancing and the closure of all non-essential businesses, including our community’s beloved salons. However, as people take the necessary steps to flatten the curve, many will be tempted (required!) to take their unkempt hair into their own hands. A new community fundraiser launched by the Okanagan College Foundation is encouraging those who want to take matters into their own hands, to do s...
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College responds with free professional development offerings during COVID-19
April 17, 2020
With organizations of all sizes in our communities facing uncertainty and disruption or adaptation to the way they conduct business in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Okanagan College is stepping up with resources to help individuals and employers tap into professional development offerings. The College’s Continuing Studies and Corporate Training department has published a new online Professional Development Resource page on its website to help people tap into free courses, webinars and panels. It will also point them in the ...
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Million dollar idea: alumnus creates a charitable gala in time of need
April 14, 2020
alumnus, Drew Vincent knew he wanted to bring the community together during a global quarantine. His challenge: how to hold an in-person online and still generate the kind of participation needed. His ingenuity and the community’s generosity yielded results that surpassed expectations. In just five days, his idea turned into a $20,000 donation to help the Okanagan community during COVID-19. The event also laid the groundwork for an even bigger charitable effort on May 2. A graduate of the College’s Bachelor of Business Administ...
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Families and community at the heart of Enactus GreenScreen technology initiative
April 9, 2020
GreenScreen is bigger than just a technology recycling program. It’s about people and helping build connections. An initiative launched by Okanagan College’s Enactus team in 2019, the project works to repurpose technology such as phones, laptops and tablets, saving them from the landfill and connecting them with families in need. The team consists of students Isaac Hossmann, Emily Pilon, Rachel Wehrmann and Maya Samaddar, and aided by College professor Devin Rubadeau. Working alongside Kelowna Cell Repair, Columbia Bottle Depot an...
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Nurses inspire nurses: health care students step up during time of crisis
April 8, 2020
“The community needs us.” It’s a statement that has become a rallying cry for a class of Okanagan College practical nursing students who are only weeks away from completing their studies and joining their teachers on the front line. And like many other health care students and grads, their actions are speaking even louder than their words in the face of COVID-19. Jodi Kemp is one of those students who is stepping up in a big way to support her community, her profession and the nurses she is training alongside at Kelowna Gener...
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student and printshop owner supports business community
March 26, 2020
People helping others is a sign of the times, especially if Okanagan College student Bryan Carlton has anything to say about it. In addition to studying part-time for his BBA, Carlton owns Snap Printing in Kelowna. Since the pandemic landed in North America, he found his clients in education, event management and business have either reduced hours, put projects on hold or cancelled events. “I have a few clients who let me know how slow it was and wanted to see If I can do anything to possibly help them out. I figured banners were...
Read more...Tom Budd sponsors health care tuition
March 26, 2020
Local businessman and philanthropist Tom Budd is giving residents an opportunity to win free tuition toward a health care career at Budd, along with local radio stations Virgin Radio and Sun FM, are offering the contest called Wishin for Tuition across the Valley until April 12. Residents can win up to $5,000 toward their tuition to one of any 10 Health Sciences programs at The programs offered range from nursing to Early Childhood Education and Pharmacy Technician. The prize money is coming ...
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College Culinary Arts program drops off donation to food bank
March 24, 2020
See a need, fill a need. This is exactly what Okanagan College’s Culinary Arts department did earlier this week as culinary classes came to an unexpected halt in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tallying the vast amount of ingredients that would have been utilized in student labs and cafeteria plates, instructors gathered as much as they could and delivered it to the Central Okanagan Community Food Bank. Initiated by Ross Derrick, interim Culinary Arts instructor and chef at Cod Fathers Market and Kelsey Oudendag, Culinary...
Read more...Campus-to-Campus half marathon cancelled
March 15, 2020
Sunday, March 15 – Today, Okanagan College and the University of British Columbia Okanagan announce that the campus-to-campus half marathon and celebration scheduled for Saturday, April 4 has been cancelled. This decision follows the recommendations made by the B.C. Ministry of Health on March 12, which advise event organizers to cancel all events and gatherings of 250 people or more, in order to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in the province. “While we are saddened to have to delay the resurgence of the run, it’s absolutely pa...
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Redmond family inspires future dental assistants
March 11, 2020
After spending more than 40 years working as a Certified Dental Assistant (CDA), Jean Redmond knows first-hand it is a rewarding career. Now, she and her husband Bill are choosing to inspire the next generation of CDAs by pledging $40,000 toward the construction of a new Health Sciences Centre at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus. The new Centre will feature a modern dental clinic to train CDAs, which are in-demand locally and across the province. The clinic will mirror a modern dental office, with a reception room, state-of-the-a...
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Mother's values recognized with large gift to College
February 24, 2020
A $50,000 donation to the Our Students, Your Health campaign will recognize a mother who survived and found lessons in the horrors of Germany's concentration camps. John Sokolowski has donated $50,000 towards an Early Childhood Education classroom in the College’s new Health Sciences Centre, currently under construction on its Kelowna campus. The donation is made in memory of his mother, Janina Sokolowski. “My mom was a champion of education for as long as I can recall,” says John. “The gift to the College will help educate future...
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Councillor gives from the heart
February 12, 2020
Kelowna City Councillor and local community champion Maxine DeHart is giving a gift from the heart this Valentine’s Day. DeHart is donating to the Our Students, Your Health campaign, which is raising funds to build a new Health Sciences Centre at Okanagan College and create scholarships and bursaries for health care students. DeHart is the Campaign Ambassador for the fundraising campaign and is spearheading the media campaign encouraging others to get involved. She says the project’s goals touched her heartstrings and inspired her...
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Pushor Mitchell invests in mental health
January 28, 2020
Pushor Mitchell is donating $30,000 to aid Okanagan College students who in their careers will support people facing mental health issues, homelessness and community isolation. The law firm that has been serving the Okanagan for more than 45 years is creating two annual awards valued at $2,000 each for students taking the College’s Human Service Work program. Human Service Work professionals help people navigate through crisis or chronic situations where the person feels they need external help and guidance to move forward with th...
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Enjoy spirited learning at charity fundraiser
January 27, 2020
Ward off the winter weather while learning to pick up the finer flavours of scotch as part of an upcoming whisky tasting to benefit Okanagan College students. Held by the Rotary Club of Kelowna Ogopogo, the 11th annual charity whisky tasting will test participants’ noses and taste buds as they learn to pick up notes of crème brulee or ripple bananas from seven mystery scotches. Tasty appetizers and buttery short bread will cap off the event, which typically sells out each year. “What people enjoy about this event is the opportunit...
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