PHILANTHROPIC COUPLE INVESTS IN EDUCATION AT ROYAL INLAND HOSPITAL
When Ben Anders retired from his family practice three years ago, he had no idea that he would soon be back on the frontlines working to combat a global pandemic. Ben served Kamloops as a successful family doctor for over 40 years. During this time, he delivered care to several generations of families, and built close relationships with many health professionals along the way. When the pandemic hit and mass vaccination clinics opened last spring, Ben didn’t think twice about jumping in to help. He went through the process of getting re-licensed and since early April has been administering vaccines at the various Interior Health Authority COVID-19 Immunization Clinics around the community. While in the clinic, Ben became reacquainted with old colleagues, fellow nurses and past patients.
Although he never expected to be paid for his efforts in the clinic as he was happy to volunteer, Interior Health insisted that everyone delivering vaccines required a contract which resulted in him being compensated for his service. After discussing things over with his wife Lorene, they collectively decided to invest these funds back into health care by making a generous donation to the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation to fund further education for the incredible staff and health care professionals at RIH.
On Tuesday, November 30th, Ben and Lorene Anders presented the Foundation with a $35,000 cheque. Their impact was doubled through the matching initiative put forth by the Foundation in honour of Giving Tuesday. On this day, there thoughtful donation resulted in $70,000 to directly benefit the health of our community by furthering education in the staff at RIH and ultimately helping our medical professionals grow and become the best health care providers they can be.
“It has been my privilege to work at the mass vaccinator clinics over the last 10 months. None of us there thought we would still be doing this type of clinic so far into the vaccine program. Lorene and I are in a position where we can contribute to the RIH Foundation from the clinic contract benefits. I am most pleased to be able to direct these funds toward the educational support for our RIH nurses, Respiratory Therapists (RTs) and various health care workers. These health care workers deserve the opportunities to get quality education.”
Matching initiatives are a great way to double or even triple your impact. The next time you are considering making a donation to the RIH Foundation, consider giving during one of our many matching initiatives throughout the year.
