A small gathering was held on June 23 at Radley Park with residents of Mountainview Lodge, staff, and community supporters to celebrate the completion of the Mountainview Lodge Mobility Project. This project provided a fully accessible bus, known as the Freedom Wheeler, for the residents of Mountainview Lodge as well as improvements for safe storage of the bus.
As some community members turned their talents for growing plants, hosting lemonade stands, and baking into sizeable contributions, community supporters raised nearly $24,000 to complete the project.
“The generosity of our community members, businesses and service groups has truly been a positive light in a very difficult year. Residents of Kitimat and the Kitamaat Village have really shown that it is important to them that we care for those that cared for us,” Kitimat General Hospital Foundation stated in a press release.
As Rio Tinto already committed $70,000 to the project for the purchase of a fully accessible shuttle bus, they also held a ‘Community Match Campaign’ where the company pledged to match donations made by the community, having them donate a total of $94,000 to the project.
“This campaign showed that we can accomplish great things when we work together as a community. Rio Tinto is very proud to support the well-being of Kitimat and Kitamaat’s elderly people through this important mobility project led by the Kitimat General Hospital Foundation,” Rio Tinto BC Works general manager Affonso Bizon stated in a press release.
The bus will allow the residents of the Mountainview Lodge, Delta King, the future Dementia Care Home, and the Better at Home Program to get out and about in the community and region. It has been three years since the last bus was decommissioned and the residents cannot wait to get back to their trips to the lake, the river, and many other spots in the region.
The Kitimat General Hospital Foundation will not be taking a break anytime soon as they still have many projects on the go and will be focusing on their first Annual Virtual Run for Healthcare that will take place in September with the proceeds going towards cardiac monitoring equipment at the Kitimat General Hospital.
READ MORE: New bus coming for Kitimat’s Mountainview Lodge residents
jacob.lubberts@northernsentinel.com
