Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

Kamloops hospice fundraiser

Celebrate a Life crafts, raffle tickets and memory tree fundraiser set up in Northills Mall

Nov 28, 2025 | 5:16 PM

KAMLOOPS — There are three weeks left for Northills Mall patrons to pay a visit to the Celebrate a Life craft sale, raffle and memory tree. It’s a key fundraiser for the Kamloops Hospice Association. Every year, dozens of people use their crafting, knitting, quilting and other creative skills to create items for the sale, which generates thousands of dollars for hospice care in the city.

Over more than 30 years of operation, Celebrate a Life has become a reliable fundraiser for Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Memorial Hospice House. Last year, it collected nearly $25,000.

“I started when it was just the tree and a raffle,” says volunteer Mary Rea. “We would be over at the KXA then, what used to be the KXA. And then we just gradually moved along and made it bigger and better.”

Repeat volunteers like Rea and Pam Leitch say the annual display is a meaningful part of what can be tough time of year for people.

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“I started volunteering at hospice, had a dear friend that was in the house and I found it to be the most positive experience in the most negative time in my life,” notes Leitch.

It is fundraising using handcrafted creations and raffle ticket sales to catch the eye of people passing by. At the same time, there is a strong element of socialization and reflection.

“The history book is there if they want to sign that. That stays in the house and it means a lot to them that their memory is sealed there,” adds Leitch. “We get a lot of good conversations with people. It’s a hard time of year when you’ve lost someone.”

That’s true even for those working the cash register.

“My niece passed away in 2004 and it was in a hospital setting and I just realized how fortunate we are this facility (Kamloops Hospice) in Kamloops and it’s so heartwarming to be a part of it,” says longtime volunteer Dorothy Woodward.

At the centre of it all is the glow of the memory tree, adorned with red bulbs and names of loved ones who have passed on.

“It’s really heartwarming because the tree is really what’s important,” reiterates Rea. “They can put their memory on there of their person and that’s the most important part. This (craft sale table) is just added benefits, you know.”

Celebrate a Life’s craft sale, raffle and the memory tree are all set up in Northills Mall Mondays through Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. until December 20.