Our good friend CPR Annie has been busy travelling around our beautiful valley sightseeing and of course teaching our employees how to perform Hands-Only CPR, following the recent installation of AED devices at all First West locations. It has been quite the wild adventure, already visiting 16 of our Valley First locations with more to go! We are so excited to be partnered with the Heart and Stroke Foundation - BC & Yukon to provide all of our staff with the education and confidence they need in the event of a cardiac arrest ❤️

We’re celebrating local grassroots initiatives that make our community stronger and more connected. We’re doing this by giving away $60K in neighbourhood grants with help from our community partner Do Some Good. From now through December, applicants who have events, projects and programs that make our community great could receive funding. We call it #SimpleGenerosity.

Tell us how you would use up to $500 towards your community event or initiative! Do you need plants for a community garden? Equipment for an outdoor fitness class? Kitchen rental for a canning workshop?

For more info visit: valleyfirst.com/simplegenerosity

Kudos to our Kelowna teams - they were thrilled to present a cheque for $1,052 to our partners, Central Okanagan Community Food Bank! The funds were raised through Feed the Valley in branch fundraising and donations received during the recent Downtown Kelowna Association Block Party. Attendees could stop by the booth to fill up their own water bottle, or make a donation to receive a reusable water cup if they forgot theirs at home. The team also set up two mini golf courses and for a $2 donation to the food bank, attendees could try their luck - we even matched the donations for all the holes in one! A big thank you to all those that help us support our local food bank and reduce hunger in the community!

Congratulations to #SimpleGenerosity recipient from Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union, Diann Boyd! She’s donating her $1,000 award to the Armstrong Lions Club. Diann has been volunteering with the Armstrong Lions Club for over 14 years, driving seniors to appointments, organizing entertainment at senior housing complexes and helping with the many events the club puts on in the community each year. She is currently the President of the Club, and has held the positions of Treasurer, Membership Chair, and Tail Twister over the years. Diann always has a smile on her face and is happy to help anyone in need. Her love of music is felt by all when she plays her guitar and sings to the elderly at senior homes and the Legion. Her love of her community encourages her and the Lions to improve the community by supporting the Armstrong Lions Vision Centre, building and adding trees to the Lions Park on Hunter Ave, building the gazebo and adding to the playground at Memorial Park, upkeep of the benches throughout walking trails in Armstrong, and helping keep the Tuesday Night Bingo going for the community by being a caller. She is very quiet about all that she does and manages to find a positive takeaway from any situation. Thank you for inspiring us!

Know a volunteer doing good work in your community? Nominate them on Do Some Good today: http://bit.ly/2ouTm67

Congratulations to #SimpleGenerosity recipients from Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union, the Better at Home volunteers! The group volunteers through the Better At Home program with NexusBC Community Resource Centre Society and chose to donate their funds back into the program. The Better at Home volunteers have been volunteering for up to the last 6 years, giving over 6,500 hours to helping seniors continue living independently in their own home. Better at Home Volunteers help with driving, grocery shopping, friendly visits, minor home repairs and light yard work with each volunteer specializing in the service(s) they can offer. They give a huge gift of time and resources including their own vehicle to take a senior out to essential medical appointments or to connect with their own community. Some volunteers provide yard work services including lawn mowing which sometimes involves using their own equipment in addition to the time and hard labour it takes to maintain a senior's yard. The minor home repair volunteers specialize in keeping the community's seniors healthy and safe in their own home by fixing and maintaining aspects of their home such as broken lighting, tripping hazards, smoke detectors etc. The friendly visiting volunteers address a very essential component of senior's health by targeting lonely and isolated seniors. Thank you for inspiring us!

Know a volunteer doing good work in your community? Nominate them on Do Some Good today: http://bit.ly/2ouTm67

7th Annual Butterfly Effect

Sunday, July 21 from 10am – 1pm

Falcon Ridge Farms - 579 Rifle Road in Kelowna

The 7th annual Butterfly Effect is a spectacular butterfly release to honour those we have lost and other special people in our lives to benefit Central Okanagan Hospice Association.

Flutter Sponsor Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union