The East Kootenay Foundation for Health (EKFH) has received a $77,000 donation from Stillwater Consulting for Foundry East Kootenay, a youth-focused health and wellness centre.
EKFH officials said this donation is a significant boost to the fundraising campaign, which has its goal set at $1.4-million.
“Our community continues to amaze me. This very generous donation from Stillwater Consulting means so much to us and to the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child & Family Services,” said EKFH Executive Director Brenna Baker. “We are so close to reaching our goal and this will bring us a whole lot closer. Local support has been so great! The need for Foundry has increased substantially since COVID hit and it’s our donors who are helping to make Foundry a reality.”
Foundry East Kootenay is planned to be a walk-in health and wellness centre for people aged 12 to 24. The centre will focus primarily on mental health and substance use.
The centre will provide primary care, counselling and peer support under one roof with no waitlists.
EKFH officials said people visiting the Foundry will not have to repeat their story multiple times and help will be accessible the day they come in.
“At Stillwater Consulting, everything we do is about making positive change in people’s lives,” said Amy McInnes, Senior Project Manager. “Especially in the world we find ourselves in right now, mental health is more important than ever but is still considered a taboo topic for many people and organizations. Through the educational programs we provide across the province, we’ve seen firsthand that youth are struggling right now. The anxiety our students are experiencing is at an all-time high. They need mental health support and they need to be able to access it quickly, easily and without shame. As a company, (and as members of the East Kootenay community) we felt it was important to align with this initiative and say, we believe mental health is important, and we believe in what the Foundry is doing to support our youth as they are our future.”
Contributions to the campaign can be made online, over the phone at 250-489-6481, or mailed to 13 24th Ave N. Cranbrook BC, V1C 3H9.
More: Foundry project page (EKFH)