Big dollars roll in for Okanagan Rail Trail

Okanagan residents are jumping on board a campaign to raise money for the construction of a Rail Trail between Kelowna and Coldstream.

At the end of June, an anonymous donor came forward offering to match donations for the trail for the first 10 days of July.

That initiative brought in $225,211 from 876 donors.

Then Don and Cathy Archibald from the North Okanagan offered to extend the matching challenge.

That means all of the money that was collected between July 1 and July 10 will be matched, for a total of $450,422.

“This trail will help shape the future of this valley and provide an incredible legacy for our communities,” Don Archibald said in a statement. “We need to do all we can to ensure this trail gets built as soon as possible to allow us all to enjoy the benefits”.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This trail will help shape the future of this valley and provide an incredible legacy for our communities," Don Archibald said in a statement. "We need to do all we can to ensure this trail gets built as soon as possible to allow us all to enjoy the benefits".

Organizers say the campaign is now close to $700,000; enough to construct 4.4 of the nearly 50 kilometres of trail.

“The campaign is grateful for these two generous donors to spearhead the Canada Day Matching Challenge, and the response by each of the 876 donors,” Duane Thomson, Trail Ambassador, said in a release. “The success of the Canada Day challenge means that the first stage of trail development (design and access control) can soon begin. It has also stimulated fundraising ideas by businesses and trail ambassadors, and will help the campaign continue to build momentum.”

For more information on the Rail Trail, or to make a donation, you can visit The Okanagan Rail Trail Initiative website.