A fundraiser for Kelowna’s Ron Koch proves that if you selflessly help others, they will be there in your time of greatest need.
“He deserves every bit of this that’s going on right now,” Sheldon Bank, assistant coach of the Enderby Elite U14 fastball team, said. “You can’t find a more caring person – very loving.”
The ‘Race for Ron’ fundraiser took place Wednesday night at the Kelowna BMX track on Dodd Rd., raising around $4,500 for the 71-year-old president of Kelowna BMX following his diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“We’re hoping to raise as much money as we can to offset the medications that aren’t covered: the anti-nausea drugs, the specialized diet that the nutritionist has put him on, paying parking at the hospital three, four, five times a months, sometimes more, – just to take a bit of the pressure off him and his wife,” his daughter Tisha Scoffins said.
Scoffins said those interesting in helping Koch can also donate blood, as he needs frequent transfusions.
“Six to eight months through chemo treatment should put him into remission,” she said. “Doctors have a good prognosis for him.”
A large crowd, made up of BMX and fastball club members, came out for the fundraiser, despite the rain.
Koch resided as president of Kelowna Fastball for six years.
“I think the community is so blessed to have a person like Ron involved in this especially in the sports world,” Bank said. “I just wish there were more people like him. The world would be a lot better place.”