The post Be like Mike appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
The post Drumming up awareness appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
Wally Churchill is turning 86 and is inviting you to the party.
The well-known entertainer from Chase will be hosting a hootenanny and coffeehouse on Saturday, Aug. 6, at the Chase Community Hall.
Musicians are welcome to come out and play and cash and non-perishable food donations will be accepted for the Chase Hamper Society.
Doors open from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m., with entertainment starting at 2 p.m. and coffeehouse begins at 7 p.m.
The Chase Hall is at 547 Shuswap Ave.
For more information, call Wally at 250-318-7342.
The post Wally Churchill wants you at his birthday party appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
Two of Kelsey O’Bray’s co-workers came rushing around the side of the former Bank of Montreal building on Victoria Street on Friday afternoon with important news: “She’s in position.”
Six stories up, O’Bray was preparing for a mysterious three-hour meeting with her boss in the boardroom of her law office. Unknown to her, the meeting had actually been booked by Brandon Lazar, her boyfriend of nearly two years, who was now in the process of guiding a window-washer lift up the side of the building, an engagement ring in his pocket.
Once he reached the correct floor, Lazar snagged a booklet of pre-written flash cards off the floor that ended with the big question: Will you marry me?
Lazar, owner of A Plus Gutter and Window Cleaning, said it only seemed natural to use the equipment from his business to add some flair to his proposal.
“I just wanted to do something big and extravagant,” he said. That had started with booking the meeting, three months earlier, and roping in O’Bray’s assistant and boss to help clear her schedule for the afternoon.
On the ground, his little brother, Taylor, hooked a camera to the window-washing rig to help capture the moment, while a former roommate hid in the hallway outside the boardroom to get the other side of the proposal — and help Lazar keep track of the movements in the room via an earpiece.
“The glass is completely mirrored so I couldn’t see her whatsoever,” Lazar admitted with a laugh. It wasn’t until he reached the end of his cards that he caught a flash of movement inside. As part of the plan, he’d printed two additional cards and had them placed them in a folder on the boardroom table. They read ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’
“I could just faintly see the yes,” Lazar said. “That was the only thing I saw through my entire presence through the air there. It was kind of nice, that that was the only thing that got through. That’s the important one.”
Speaking to KTW only a few minutes after getting engaged, O’Bray said she was still in shock.
“I just thought maybe he was washing the windows here today and it was a surprise. But then, when everyone started running around and acting weird, I kind of figured it out,” she said.
The couple met when a mutual friend brought O’Bray to a barbecue at Lazar’s house. They developed an immediate connection.
“We always just felt the other was very special, like no one else we’d ever met,” said O’Bray.
The post Kamloops man goes above and beyond to propose to girlfriend appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
With two substantial donations from local philanthropists, a new fund named for the former executive director of the Kamloops Art Gallery is more than half-way to its goal.
At a press conference announcing the creation of the Jann LM Bailey Legacy Fund, gallery acting executive director Margaret Chrumka said Ron and Rae Fawcett, along with Mary Martin, have helped move the project toward its $28,000 goal — $1,000 for each of the years Bailey was with the gallery.
The money will be used for children and youth education, a cause that was dear to Bailey throughout her career, Chrumka said.
In an average year, the gallery would see between 600 to 800 students visit through its school program and another 1,000 to 1,200 take part in other studies programs it offers.
Chrumka said part of the gallery’s mandate is an obligation to “nurture that artistic side of people to make your own mark.”
The fund will be held in trust by the B.C. Interior Community Foundation, which already oversees two other gallery-related endowment funds, one created by Bailey years ago to assist with buying art for the facility at 465 Victoria St., and one created by the gallery itself to build a financial base for future needs.
“Galleries our size in the U.S., more than 50 per cent of their operating costs are often covered by endowment funds,” Chrumka said.
That fund has more than $200,000. As per Bailey’s habit annually, if there are any funds left over after each fiscal year, they go into the fund.
As for the $28,000 goal, Chrumka said she’ll be thrilled if the final tally goes above that mark.
All donations over $20 will receive a tax-deductible charitable receipt. Donations can be made online at kag.bc.ca/supportus/donations or by calling the gallery at 250-377-2400.
The post Funding Bailey’s legacy appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
The post A sprint and a splash appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
The post Balance beaming grandparents appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
The post Waiting for the big show appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
An anonymous donor has given $5,000 to send struggling women to Jack Canfield’s motivational workshop in Kamloops next month.
Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, will speak on Oct. 1 at Thompson Rivers University’s Grand Hall.
The workshop has a registration fee of $229.
The donation follows a presentation A Way Home co-ordinator Katherine McParland and Kamloops YMCA-YWCA CEO Colin Reid gave to the philanthropic group 100 Women Who Care.
The group meets quarterly and everyone donates $100. Members hear pitches from a variety of causes and groups in the city, voting on which one to support.
While A Way Home was not chosen — the Royal Inland Hospital’s rapid-access breast health project was picked — one of the women contacted Reid the next day with her donation. The Y is one of 17 partners that work with A Way Home.
Reid praised the donor, who does not want her name revealed, as a “very grounded woman who wants to see other women who might not have the opportunity for something like this to go to it.”
The proceeds from the Canfield workshop will be split between A Way Home and Developing World Connections for a project it has in Guatemala.
The A Way Home youth housing initiative began in 2012 when McParland and others started meeting in a vacant downtown building to discuss the issue of homeless youth.
“It was very grassroots,” she said, but added it started to formalize after the city created a youth homelessness plan and contacted her to ask if the group wanted to work with it on the plan.
From that came the Kamloops Youth Homelessness Wrap Force, a partnership of 17 agencies that work together to provide housing and other support youth might need. Each youth has a unique team designed to ensure they are connected with resources and services that will help them move forward in their lives.
McParland said A Way Home had 92 referrals in the past 12 months, but noted there isn’t enough available housing for all of them. Sixteen were given housing in the past six months, five were reconnected with family and two received medical treatment for lifestyle issues.
“The need is great,” McParland said.
A Way Home is looking for sponsorships for youth tickets to Canfield’s workshop.
Those able to help can call 250-320-7837.
The post Donation helps give Chicken Soup for the Soul to struggling Kamloops women appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
The post PHOTO GALLERY: Inquiring minds at Super Static Electricity Show appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
The post Welcome back! appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
The post Our for a bite appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
The post Colourful cultural celebration appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
The post Raising funds, awareness at Terry Fox Run appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
The post Children’s Arts Festival brightened a rainy day appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
Juniper Ridge elementary school opens up its doors to the public to come celebrate its 25th anniversary in the community on Thursday (Sept. 22). Organized by the local PAC group, the event featured cotton candy, bouncy castles, indoor games and lots of great food.
The post PHOTO GALLERY: Juniper Ridge elementary celebrates 25 years appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
Slouching on a concrete bench on McArthur Island, Brett Devloo looks like any other 21-year-old skater.
He wears his hat backwards and hits the jumps like any other kid with mad skills.
It’s not until a red and white cane appears does it become apparent Devloo is blind.
With only one per cent vision, Devloo has to create cues to help him navigate the skate park.
Well-placed sneakers to mark the bottom and top of a ramp give Devloo enough contrast to help him know when to pop the trick. He can’t do lines (several tricks in a row) as he did before going blind, but he’s OK with that.
It’s half-speed from what he could skate before he lost his sight, but when Devloo uses his skateboard to get around, it’s full speed ahead.
With a friend in front and his cane in hand, Devloo can get a good feel of what’s out there and where he’s going.
He recalls a recent skate with a friend along the roads of Los Angeles, exploring street after street.
“I just used my cane so people knew I was blind, so if they hit me with a car, then I get more money,” he quipped.
Speaking of his wittiness, Devloo said, “It’s gotten a lot better since I became blind.
“When I could see, I was super shy — I didn’t talk much. If I made a joke, no one listened, no one laughed.
“Now it’s like, ‘Yeah, how’s your morning?’ ‘Oh, my morning? I just walked into a couple walls, a couple chairs, apologized to two of them. No one was really there, so it was a good morning.’”
Devloo said his parents were impacted more than he was when he lost his sight.
He was sitting in class in Winnipeg during the last month of school in 2012 when he felt something was very wrong with his vision.
He walked himself to a local eye doctor during the lunch hour.
“I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ The doctor said, ‘You went from 20/50 vision to 20/2,500 in a matter of seconds. This is not small, this is big,’” Devrlo recalled.
A quick phone call to his parents was how his mother found out her son went blind. Devloo was found to have two genetic mutations, one being a DNA mutation called Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy.
“Over the next few months, getting progressively worse, both of my parents sat me down and said because of how strong I am, they could keep going,” he said.
“They’re very supportive.”
Devloo continued to skateboard, a love of his since he was six.
With the help of his mother’s co-workers, Devloo was given an iPad with added voice software that enabled him to communicate in new ways.
The gift became the impetus for Devloo to start The Blind Kid Foundation, seeing $1 from every one of his T-shirts sold go to the fund.
Since that foundation began, Devloo said he has been able to give away four iPads to blind students living in Winnipeg .
A one-way ticket to B.C. has Devloo following his dreams.
“You can’t really chase your dreams by sitting at home,” he said.
Devloo’s future plans include looking to record his own music, continuing to expand his TBK (The Blind Kid) clothing line and searching out more followers in B.C. and California.
As well, he’s working on completing a documentary of his journey, with hopes of landing a booking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The post The Blind Kid chases his dream appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
South Kamloops secondary students and staff will be staging their annual Terry Fox Run on Thursday, Sept. 29, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
About 1,000 students and staff will be running through the South Kamloops/Sagebrush neighbourhood and the school wants residents to be aware of the route runners will be following.
The run will start at the school at Munro and Eighth Avenue, then go north on Eighth, east on Dominion Street, then south on 13th Avenue, which veers westward onto Pleasant Street. The run will then continue west on Pleasant Street, south on 10th Avenue, west on Douglas Street, south on Ninth Avenue, then west on Munro and back to the school.
The community Terry Fox Run was held across Canada on Sept. 18.
Money raised in the runs goes to the Terry Fox Foundation for use in cancer research.
The post South Kam students will be running for Terry Fox on Sept. 29 appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
The post CN employees trained to care appeared first on Kamloops This Week.
