Generous donors kept the phone lines buzzing Tuesday, helping raise more than $2.7 million for the CKNW Kids’ Fund during its annual pledge day radiothon.
That figure covers donations collected by the end of on-air fundraising at 7 p.m., but donors can still chip in online until midnight.
A final tally is expected Wednesday. But even so, the hefty sum is more than $1.2 more than donors gave last year and eclipses the previous record of $2.6 million donors set in 2019.
“We are so grateful for the generosity of CKNW listeners,” CKNW program director Kathryn Stewart said.
“The money raised on Pledge Day helps the Kids’ Fund support so many B.C. kids throughout the year, and this record-breaking total is a real game-changer at a time when there is so much need in our province.”
The CKNW Kids’ Fund was known as the CKNW Orphans’ Fund until it was rebranded in 2018.
The charity was founded in 1944, with the goal of fundraising for gifts for the Loyal Protestant Home, a New Westminster orphanage.
Since then, it has grown to provide support for children with physical, mental and social challenges provincewide.
Areas of focus include therapies, educational supports, summer camps, mobility aids and medical equipment.
The fund is now one of the largest sources providing direct funding help to kids and families in B.C.
Throughout 2022, the fund has provided nearly $1.2 million in funding to individual children, and more than $270,000 to community organizations for programming for children with special needs.