From left to right: Avry Janes, Co-Executive Director (ED) Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation (CVHF), Charlie Doucette, Funding Innovation Vancouver Island Consultant, Rhonda Stevens, Co-ED CVHF

We had the opportunity to meet with Charlie Doucette from Funding Innovation to celebrate their recent gift and more than $16,000 of generous support to healthcare in the Comox Valley throughout our many years of partnership.

Funding Innovation offers the Art Easel Program, displaying high-quality Canadian art as a fundraising option for charities across Canada, supporting over 100 charities with more than 2,200 easel hosting locations.

Recently, we learned of a special story of someone who bought one of their prints displayed within the hospital (shown in the photograph with the handwritten message on the back of the art piece also showing). We are pleased we can share it with our community.

“I am not usually someone who makes hasty decisions, particularly about art, but this print of a family of Ojibwe loons by Bruce Morrison felt like a message at a time when I really needed reassurance and to make sense of a profound experience. My first grandchild had just been born to loving yet very young parents. The birth had been challenging, with an emergency C-section required in the middle of the night. Both parents and infant were well cared for by the team at the Comox Valley Hospital. My beautiful granddaughter was healthy and strong, as I knew she would need to be for the life ahead of her.

The hospital was quiet as I walked through the empty hallway toward the southeast exit doors; it was around 11pm. I remember feeling worried and alone in that moment. Then I saw it. The print clearly matched the deep feeling of love and solemn responsibility I felt when I held my granddaughter for the first time just days before. Seeing it reinforced my role as someone who would always look out for her and help her dad grow in his role as her loving father. He has done exactly that, and I am so proud to walk alongside them. The print means a lot to me and it’s extra special that the funds went to the hospital.”

Thank you, Funding Innovation, for partnering with us to support healthcare in our community, and our sincere gratitude to everyone who purchases the art pieces on display. Your contributions add up!