BC Wildheart fundraiser raised money for wildfire relief

Jul 21, 2017 | 3:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — Providing entertainment, food, and a lot of love for the B.C. wildfire evacuees, The BC Wildheart tailgate party was set up in the Sahali Mall parking lot today to raise money for wildfire relief.

“All of the money is going to go to the Red Cross,” said Mitchell Zulinick, C.O.O at Arrow Transportation and one of several organizers, “but some of the larger sponsors are going to dictate which communities they want that to go, because obviously we have people that work in all of these communities, as do a lot of the other major sponsors.”

Before the party had even kicked off, BC Wildheart had raised more than $270,000 through corporate and online donations. 

“As you can see in the back we have an area for donations, you can bring a cheque, we’ve got people here that will get you a receipt for that,” Zulinick said. “We take cash, we take cheques, we take online donations. It will all be great.”

With no indication as to when the wildfire season will slow down, organizers of the BC Wildheart fundraiser are hoping Kamloops’ generosity will continue.

“Clearly this is going to be a problem that’s going to go on most of the summer. I think people have to be prepared to help, and we’re finding that given an avenue to do so they’re more than willing to dip their hands in their pockets, and step up, and do a good thing.”