A new office building for Campbell River Hospice Society moved another step closer to reality Wednesday when Campbell River’s Daybreak and Noon Hour Rotary Clubs teamed up to provide a $30,000 donation to the CR Hospice House Building Fund.
“This has been talked about in our club for at least a decade,” said Lorrie Bewza of the Noon Rotary.
Brian Stamp, chair of the Hospice House Building Fund committee, accepted the cheque in a presentation held at the Maritime Heritage Centre.
“With this donation we now have $550,000 in cash and in-kind donations,” said Stamp, who heads an all-volunteer group formed to address the hospice society’s loss of its office space in the building next to the curling club. “We’re hoping we can start construction by late summer.”
The proposed 2,476 square foot building will be located on Evergreen Road, adjacent to Yucalta Lodge and just behind the new hospital currently under construction. It will boast a kitchen, library, counselling offices, a multi-purpose room, a clinic and an outdoor courtyard.
“Essentially, it’s a house,” said Stamp, a lawyer and former member of the Vancouver Island Health Authority board of directors who recruited a group of like-minded associates to raise funds and plan the project beginning in late 2013.
The new hospice home will be situated on property donated by the city, and Stamp said the city has also pledged to service the project. With the in-kind value provided by the city in combination with funds raised, Stamp said, the Hospice House project will have a roughly $1 million value.
Campbell River’s Rotary, meanwhile, will begin refilling its coffers next week with the launch of its annual Duck Dip fundraiser. Tickets go on sale July 1 for the Aug. 23 event.