Society of Hope Blog

Preceding spring, Capstone has broken through and is now visible above the horizon!  It will continue to grow up up up - nine floors before completion.  What you can no longer see is the two story parkade below ground...  Also making an appearance in this photo is our crane - long becoming a familiar site to our Apple Valley residents, guests and staff.  With the  nearby Mission Creek tree-line in the background, Capstone is sure to be a desired location for those looking to find housing in the central Okanagan.

After two years navigating COVID 19 pandemic and restrictions, business excellence was celebrated with the Thompson Okanagan Grant Thornton LLP Business Excellence Awards.  There were 18 different categories honored by business owners, managers and leaders gathered for an evening of networking and reflecting.

"Celebrating the Best of the Best of Business in the Thompson Okanagan"

Coast Capri Hotel, Kelowna, June 16, 2022

This was an opportunity to honor the best of the best, and their performance over the last two years!    A wide variety of sectors were represented - highlighting what "can be and is being done in our region."  Check out all the winners at www.businessexaminer.ca  Categories in such areas as Automotive, Green, Health Care, Entrepreneur, Financial, Food & Beverage, Hospitality & Tourism, Manufacturing, Non Profit, Professional, Real Estate, Retail, Technology, Trades, Small Business, and Wineries, and of course, Construction & Development, were recognized.   Congratulations to the Society of Hope for winning the Business of the Year for Construction & Development award!

The Society of Hope is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Ken Zeitner to the position of Executive Director effective May 28, 2022. Ken will take over from Luke Stack who is retiring from the role after serving as Executive Director since the inception of the Society in 1989.

Ken has served in various positions with the organization over the years and is currently the Chief Financial Officer.

Ken was responsible for the design and implementation of numerous innovative administrative and operational systems which proved essential to the Society's capacity to build and operate increasing numbers of affordable housing units in the region. Ken's contributions over the years have been a key factor in the Society being recognized with multiple community awards, including the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, Business Excellence Award for Community Impact and the BC Non-Profit Housing Association's Housing Provider of the Year Award. 

The Society's Board of Directors looks forward to working with Ken and the entire Society of Hope team as we continue to provide qualify affordable housing in the communities of the Central Okanagan.

Luke Stack, The Society  of Hope's Executive Director, has tendered his resignation effective May 27, 2022.  He has served this organization for 33 years.

The Society wishes Luke success, and thanks him for his dedication to help fulfill the Society's mission to provide quality affordable housing.  "It is my belief that this is the right time to do this," said Stack, saying that he is leaving the organization in very good hands, with a skilled Board and staff members to carry the Society forward.  Luke will be spending more time with family and friends, and continue to serve on Kelowna City Council. 

The earliest concepts of the Society of Hope began in the late 1980s. Luke and his wife Anne were two of the initial founders in 1989. Luke was also one of the founding members of the BC Non Profit Housing Association (BCHPHA), representing the Okanagan.

Seeing the need for affordable rental housing in the Okanagan Valley, the Society has constructed or acquired over 700 rental homes from Peachland to Lake Country. In fact, the Society of Hope is now the largest non-profit housing provider in the Interior of B.C. More than a hundred more apartments and townhomes are scheduled for completion in the next 24-36 months, and another 75+ units sometime after that.

Luke will be missed by many, and he says he will miss his office, his early morning coffee, and staff meetings! But he won't be far... He says he will continue to oversee the development and completion of Capstone and Pleasantvale 2. He won't officially decide until summer whether he will seek another 4 year term with the City. One thing is for certain, Luke has not tired of serving our community!

Friday, Jan 28, 2022 was "Sod Turning Day" for the Society of Hope's newest project – Capstone. The brief ceremony featured 3 speakers: The Society's Board President, Philip Lambert, Mayor Colin Basran, and BC Housing/Province of BC representative: Kelly Miller – Associate Vice President of Operations for BC Housing. Luke Stack, The Society's Executive Director, officiated.

The Capstone project began in 1996 with donation of a large piece of land by Gordon & Helen Ziglar. The purpose of this donation was to have "Active living and housing for seniors." This land was eventually sold, (Landmark square) and a 9 acre farm owned by Lloyd & Nan Petitt was purchased.   2175 Benvoulin Road is the current location of the Capstone property; spread out between Benvoulin Road, Benvoulin Court, and Mayer Road. This will be the biggest project The Society has built. This building will have 9 stories, and include 122 suites. The mix of one and two bedroom units will provide rental housing for moderate to low income individuals, small families, seniors and people with disabilities.

This project is made possible through a partnership between the Government of British Columbia, the National Society of Hope, the City of Kelowna, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The City of Kelowna has provided at $300,000.00 grant as well as a ten year tax reduction for this project." As well, "70% of the units in this building will have rents set at 30% of a person's income. This means these units will be truly affordable."

Scuka Construction is the builder, and we can look forward to the Grand Opening in about 2 yrs.

"It has taken 26 years to get to this Capstone Sod Turning today."

Thank you London Drugs Stocking Stuffers For Seniors!

Our very own local London Drugs has a great and timely gift program for seniors.

The Stocking Stuffers for Seniors campaign began in 2015, with one store location providing help for 500 inner city seniors. The campaign quickly caught on, growing in 2016 to multiple store locations helping more than 2,000 seniors in their communities. In 2017, Stocking Stuffers for Seniors went chain wide across all stores, in all locations. In fact, London Drugs delivered donated gifts to more than 10,000 seniors! In 2021, London Drugs is excited to once again offer the Stocking Stuffers for Seniors campaign chain wide, for the fourth year in a row.

"The effects of isolation and loneliness have been significant during the pandemic and we want our seniors to know we care, and we are thinking of them. For the fifth year in a row, Stocking Stuffers for Seniors partners with local care homes and charities with a mission to bring more holiday cheer to seniors, in all the communities we serve."

Donated items don't need to be purchased from a London Drugs store — any new, non-gift wrapped item is accepted from Friday, November 12 – Wednesday, December 8^th.

Simply purchase or bring new, non-gift wrapped items, along with the gift tag, to the store's Customer Service Counter by the delivery date. You are even welcome to include a personalized Christmas Card with your gift..

Upon visiting a London Drugs store, head over to the store's Christmas Tree for a Stocking Stuffers for Seniors gift tag. Each tag contains a wish list from a local senior, or a general "wish list" from a participating local care home or charitable partner organization.

London Drugs has developed a "desired item list" (e.g. toothpaste, shaving cream, socks, mittens, blankets, cookies) with the care home managers, and use generic tags for those items so that all residents benefit equally from the donated gifts.

Customers can visit London Drugs and pick up a holiday wish list tag from the Christmas tree.  Simply provide the gift to the store which we will be distributed to the seniors.

Many Society of Hope seniors have benefitted from this program over the last two years. This year 91 Hope Tenants will be gifted at some of our Rutland and Lake Country sites.  Thank you London Drugs for this excellent seasonal program!

Thursday mornings in the Ziglar Rec Centre are filled with the smells of savory soup simmering and the clamoring of chopping and chatter.  Our resource coordinator and many Tenant Volunteers are busy preparing big bowls of homemade seasonal soups for Metro Community.  Metro has a drop in courtyard/café, and is located at 1262 St. Paul St.  They offer a 'safe place to come and have your basic needs met.'  What a great way for community to help community.  Volunteers from our tenant community prepare enough food for 100 meals – once every 2nd week.  Some bring ingredients, some bring recipes, and some bring the laughs and the helping hands required for such a task.

Castanet.net posted the following story earlier this week.  

If all goes well, the Society of Hope envisions breaking ground on Pleasantvale 2 in the spring or summer of next year.

On Monday, the Central Okanagan housing society officially distributed plans for the project to city hall.

This is the first major step for the proposed development since the non-profit society was selected by BC Housing to construct Pleasantvale 2 earlier this year.

The proposal before the city includes 27 two and three bedroom family townhomes and 48 one and two bedroom units for seniors within a four-story apartment.

It will front Cambridge and Central avenues and Kingsway in Kelowna's north end, next to the first Pleasantvale project.

"I'm really pleased with the look of the new building, I'm really pleased with the look of the new townhomes," said Society of Hope executive director Luke Stack.

"I think it's going to be a great addition to that neighborhood.  I think there was a little concern in the neighborhood of what it might be, but when it was presented as apartments for seniors and townhomes for families, they all sort of went, all good."

Stack says the design differs a bit from the first Pleasantvale project. He says they tried to model the design somewhat after world renowned American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

More public consultations are expected to take place in September before the rezoning application comes before council, possibly as early as the fall.

PineWood Villas has a new Pergola - thanks to our hard working Maintenance Team.  Thank you Elijah, Kevin, Rick, Aaron and Andre for giving the tenants at this site some much needed shade for the summer.  Comfortable, accessible outdoor spaces are a priority for Okanagan Living!

Need to get out of the heat wave?  Care for a nice refreshing game of Pool?  Thanks to a very generous fellow we'll call "Bill," as well as our volunteers, The Ziglar Recreation Centre has secured a 'gently used', new to us, 'Brunswick Heirloom' Pool table!   Thank you, Bill, for this timely and fun donation!  As seen in the background, this table has found its new home in our Games Room, and tenants have wasted no time jumping in to play!   Especially take notice the fringed pockets - bringing style and a little pizazz to the room!  Apple Valley has also had it's Pool/Snooker Table refurbished recently, thanks to our Resource Manager.  Here, in the foreground, you can see the new re-felted table.