Surrey, British Columbia – ILWU Local 502 raised $31,502 for the Children’s Hospital and presented the cheque on the annual Telethon in front of millions of viewers on live TV.
The number of contributors and the donation amounts keep increasing as several members donated over a $1,000 which included Dave Hopkinson who gave $1,502. Local 502 is proud and honored to be a part of this drive for the Kids and hopes to do even better next year. Judging from the current drive and the enthusiasm they should not have any problem reaching their goal next year.
The successful fundraiser was turned into an annual event last year when over $20,000 was raised in just a few weeks. The membership took this charity work to heart and is hoping to raise much more in the coming years. They even issued a challenge to all unions and groups to beat their fundraising total.
In addition, the local also engages in raising funds for other charities. Hundreds of pounds of food and thousands of dollars have been collected for the Surrey Food Bank. As well as raising thousands for Cancer research. Union member Sunny Grewal cycled nearly 400 km (250 miles) from Kelowna to Delta last month as part of the “Ride2Survive 2012” Canadian Cancer Society fundraiser and raised several thousand dollars. Bara Gill helped raise funds, with the support of his co-workers, after losing his wife to cancer last year.
In just two years Local 502 has raised over $52,000 for the Children’s Hospital and hopes to raise another $50,000 next year for a grand total that will be over a $100,000.