The Kelowna Falcons started the second half of their baseball season in front of a home crowd Wednesday night.
It was a big night at Elks Stadium; the second annual Charity game in support of the United Way.
“I think one of the most special things about this league is you get to kind of play for your community,” Falcons head coach Bryan Donohue said.
The local United Way supports dozens of charity partners, and helps to serve 85,000 people in the valley every year.
The biggest challenge the organization sees is poverty.
“We’ve got a lot of seniors living in isolation, below the poverty line,” Shelley Gilmore, Executive Director with the United Way of the Central and South Okanagan/Similkameen said. “We have young families living below the poverty line, moms making tough decisions whether to feed or clothe or house their children on any given month.”
Last year the Falcons Play for the United Way event raised over 10 thousand dollars, money that Gilmore says makes a big difference in the lives of Okanagan residents.
“For $1,000, you can put an entire family through a year of therapy. For $500 you can buy a wheelchair. For $100 you can feed a child for a month,” she said.
Gilmore says the United Way should have the totals on funds raised at this year’s event within the next couple of days.