Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation

Comox Valley Hospital and Services are vital to the wellbeing of our entire community. The Foundation plays a crucial role in funding essential medical equipment and patient care programs. Since 2007, both Lara Austin and Phil Shute have supported the Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation by way of personal donations, event sponsorships and portfolio management and donor education and support.

Thank you to volunteers Una Guile, Nicole Hoogeveen and Janet Ellis who hosted in our ‘cooling station’ at hole 9.

We would like to share a big THANK YOU to all who participated in this year’s golf tournament. Your support makes a difference in the quality of healthcare and a stronger community for the Comox Valley.

Comox Valley Transition Society 

Golf Fundraiser

RBC Dominion Securities Courtenay volunteered on Friday May 31st for the 4th Annual Drive Away Domestic Violence, for the Comox Valley Transition Society.

Once again, we were able to offer another great charity $1500 from the Giving Campaign. A little fun was definitely had! Thank you to all that volunteered alongside us.

RBC DS supports YANA in Christmas cracker crafting

RBC Dominion Securities supports YANA in their goal of preparing 5000 Christmas crackers. The Courtenay RBC DS branch got together to help roll Christmas cracks along with a health donation of $1500 to the charity.

Giving Tuesday 

RBC Wealth Management recently donated $5,000 to the Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation, a local non-profit that raises funds for acute care at the hospital, community healthcare, and not-for-profit long-term care. The donors directed their gifts to a variety of local healthcare priorities including medical imaging, urology, cardiac care, cancer care, mental health, long-term care, and the area of greatest need at the hospital. What a showing of care and generosity!

The Comox Valley Healthcare Foundations goal is to enhance acute care, long-term care, and ongoing community healthcare services. Generosity toward any of these areas this giving season is needed and greatly appreciated!

Photo (left to right): Avry Janes (CVHF), Dr. Peter Simice (Radiologist, CVH), Rhonda Stevens (CVHF), Alicia Dybdal (Medical Imaging, CVH), Lara Austin (RBC), Juvena Burns (Leader, Medical Imaging, CVH) and Blake Simpson (RBC).

RBC Volunteering at Santa's Workshop 

Some of the staff at RBC Dominion Securities helping out at Santa's Workshop in November. Above picture of Una Guile(right) and Brier Pilon(left) cleaning toys. 

Santa’s Workshop survives entirely on local donations.This includes the volunteer hours to make it all happen, money to rent space, and toys. Everyone that evening had a great time and left feeling really good about helping this amazing registered charity.

RBC meet and greet event for business owners

Above picture of Lara(right), Ian Mitchell(left) Christine Knox, Scott Wilson, Nicole Hoogeveen, and Brent Collins. This was an exclusive meet and greet event designed to offer business owners and operators in central Vancouver Island immediate access to RBC specialists. It turned out to be a lovely day with beautiful surroundings and great people!

Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation

Above picture of Lara(left) and Teresa(right) at Lara's sponsorship hole at the Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation. This was the 31st Annual Comox Valley Healthcare Foundations Golf Classic held at Crown Isle Resort & Golf Community on Friday, June 23, 2023. They are delighted that this year’s event raised $41,000 in support of exceptional local healthcare, bringing the the overall fundraising total for this historic event closer and closer to a million dollars! 

Healthy Communities First

RBC Wealth Management recently donated $5,000 to the Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation, a local non-profit that raises funds for acute care at the hospital, community healthcare, and not-for-profit long-term care.  Pictured lef to right Blake Simpson (RBC Branch Manager), Jessica Aldred (CVHF Executive Director), Lara Austin (Senior Portfolio Manger & Wealth Advisor), Phil Shute (Senior Investment Advisor), and Rhonda Stevens (CVHF Programs Administrator)

Giving Back In Our Community

Generous client's of Lara D. Austin Senior Portfolio Manager & Wealth Advisor and Una Guile Senior Associate Advisor,attended outdoor holiday festivities for a glass of good cheer. Food Bank Executive Director, Dave Reynolds, was on hand to answer any questions on local food security. Thoughtful food donations (200 pounds) and cash donations of $1495.00 collected will help local families and pensioners on fixed incomes.

In addition RBC Foundation made a $75,000 donation to the BC Food Bank and United Way in response to the November 2021 BC floods.  RBC Capital Markets donated $100,000 to Food Banks of Canada in 2021.

Giving Tuesday

(photo left to right) Jessica Aldred (Executor Director CVHF), Blake Simpson (Branch Manager RBC DS), Dustin Spratt (Manager of Emergency Department), Phil Shute and Lara Austin (Senior Wealth Advisors, RBC DS) October 2021

RBC Foundation celebrated "Giving Tuesday" by offering to match donations up to $5000.  Resulting in over $5,000 of additional donations with specified requests to allocate to the following areas: Cancer Care, Cardiac Care, Community Healthcare, Cumberland Lodge, Ears Nose and Throat surgical equipment, Mental Health, The Views rebuild and Urology. RBC is honoured to work hand-in-hand with our community.

Lara Austin, Comox Valley Investment Advisor (far left) purchased pies from local On The Fly Cafe who has been hit hard by the pandemic to give out to her clients as a holiday gift.

Serving up a slice of community

Saying thanks while supporting local, that was the motivation behind Lara Austin, a Comox Valley Investment Advisor, who wanted to thank her clients in a safe way with a gift but also waned to support a local Valley business that has been impacted by the pandemic.

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RBC Foundation Donation

On behalf of the RBC Foundation, we are pleased to extend a gift of $4,000 to the Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation.  We are proud to support the continued growth of the foundation and its important work in the community, which helps ensure annual resourcing needs are met and future emergency reserves are sound.

From Left to right: Jessica Aldred Executive Director, CVHF), Bill Anglin (Board Member, CVHF), Lara Austin (Vice-President, Portfolio Manager & Wealth Advisor, RBC Dominion Securities), Blake Simpson (Vice-President & Branch Manager, RBC Dominion Securities).

RBC Dominion Securities doubling YANA ride dollars

RBC Dominion Securities and their investment advisors Brendan Somers, Lara Austin, Don Somers, Brian Balfe, Sean Martin, and Blake Simpson have stepped up in a huge way in support of the 2020 Comox Bike Co. YANA Ride, and they’re hoping the community will too. Read More

CRACKERS FOR Y.A.N.A - The RBC Family got together in November to support our local charity Y.A.N.A (You Are Not Alone)

Thank you to the RBC administration staff and their friends and family who volunteered their time to help out and RBC Foundation for their generous donation.

HELPING HANDS! Fun times with my colleagues helping at local Habitat build. Four new families will have a home before Christmas - so exciting!  Check out  https://www.habitatnorthisland.com/ for details on volunteering, donating and celebration events.

WOMEN HELPING WOMEN - In early March I had the pleasure of attending an International Women's Day Event at 40 Knots Winery.  And what better way to celebrate IWD than by supporting the Comox Valley Transition Society with $5,000 from the RBC Foundation of the services and programs they offer women seeking help to deal with abuse and violence. I handed out purple roses as a dedication that we care about the health and safety of women in the Comox Valley, and presented the cheque to CTVS executive director Heather Ney (right).

A HEALTHY DONATION - Quality health care is important to all of us in the Comox Valley, which is why we contributed $2000 to the Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation in December.  Lean more about how the CVHF enhances the well-being of our community at cvheathcarefoundation.com. Pictured, from left to right: Phil Shute, Donna Viklund, Lynn Dashkewytch, myself and Una Guile.