Dale Bass

Dec 3, 2024 | castanet.net | Dale Bass

It’s that time of the year again—no, not the impending Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa and, this year, Ramadan celebrations. It is the start of the city’s budget deliberations for next year, a time that definitely does not bring a sense of joy to most people, including Kamloops city councillors. Emails have already started to come in complaining about the potential for more than a 9% tax increase in the city in 2025. As deputy mayor last month (colleague and friend Coun.

Nov 21, 2024 | castanetkamloops.net | Dale Bass

The Kamloops Y Women's Shelter has been the legacy charity for Christmas Cheer since the holiday fundraiser was established in the city. Jesanne Stanko, assistant manager and director of programs for violence against women intervention services, said the money from the Cheer fund helps staff make the shelter feel more like a home.

Oct 31, 2024 | castanetkamloops.net | Dale Bass

The Christmas Cheer Fund has kicked off for another year, raising money to benefit three local charities. The BC Interior Community Foundation, which now runs the campaign with support from Castanet Kamloops, goes back to the fundraiser's beginnings as founder Gregg Drinnan recalls, in his own words, how it came to be. Who knew? When a Regina friend named Mike O’Donnell joined me for lunch one summer day in 1992, who knew the conversation would lead to the birth of two Christmas Cheer Funds?

Dec 3, 2023 | castanetkamloops.net | Dale Bass

Christmas Cheer has a special meaning for Jacquie Brand and her work colleagues. For them, it means smiles, some moments of normalcy and the ability to do things for women and children who have fled unsafe situations and turned to the Y Women’s Shelter for support. Brand, general manager of the agency’s Violence Against Women Intervention and Support program, said the annual donation from the Cheer fund goes a long way. “It’s knowing the community believes in us,” she said.

Nov 19, 2023 | castanet.net | Dale Bass

A teenaged Wenda Noonan once told her dad all the things she would buy if she ever won $1 million. Dad disagreed and gave her advice the executive director of the B.C. Interior Community Foundation (BCICF) has remembered through the years. “It turns out my dad was a smart man” Noonan said with a grin. “He said that he would put that money in the bank, leave it there and live off the interest."Now, Noonan helps others do the same thing.