Pictured above from left are Jeff Ackinclose –Store Manager Thrifty Foods Crown Isle , Marianne Woodrow- St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation Board Director , Meghan Liddle- St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation and Andy Carter – Store Manager Thrifty Foods 6th St. and England Ave Courtenay

Total donation to St. Joseph’s General Hospital Foundation from Pumpkins for Charity 2012: $5,796 PLUS $1,000 Facebook Pumpkin Photos = $6,796 (**remember this was $2 per pumpkin)

“Our teams always get behind this campaign with a tonne of passion and enthusiasm,” said Jim Dores, General Manager of Thrifty Foods. “When we hear about the programs and equipment that this fundraising initiative supports, it really brings home the need to collaborate with local hospital foundations each year.”

From October 17 until October 31, one dollar ($1) from the sale of every BC pumpkin sold at all 29 Thrifty Foods locations was donated to the hospital foundation closest to each store. This year’s fundraiser topped its 2011 donation number by over $9,000 – donating a total of $41,300 to 14 local hospital foundations throughout the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and Saltspring.

Vancouver Island hospital foundations supported by Pumpkins for Charity this year included Saanich Peninsula, Cowichan District, Nanaimo and District, Campbell River, St. Joseph’s and Victoria Hospitals Foundation, as well as Lady Minto Gulf Island Foundation on Saltspring Island. Lower Mainland organizations supported by the fundraising campaign this year included the Eagle Ridge, Peace Arch, Fraser Valley Health Care, Delta, Lions Gate, Royal Columbian and Ridge Meadows hospital foundations.

In total, Thrifty Foods raised over $270,300 in 2012 for local hospital foundations through both the Pumpkins for Charity fundraiser and the February 2012 Help Out One Buck at a Time campaign.