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YANA is generously upheld by the spirit and kindness of the Comox Valley. Check out what is going on and learn about amazing supportive efforts taking place within our community. We respect the privacy of our individual donors, as such this is a sampling of donations where public acknowledgement is appropriate.

At Gigi’s Surprise 99th birthday celebration, the Petersen Family chose to turn a moment of joy into a gesture of generosity by collecting donations in lieu of gifts, with a grand total of $1500 donated to YANA! Your kindness and thoughtful ness truly reflect the spirit of love and community that GiGi herself has inspired for nearly a century.

Because of your giving hearts, this milestone became even more meaningful — not just for GiGi, but for everyone in the entire YANA Community! Thank you so much!!

Register & Rally Your Crew for the 2025 YANA Ride!

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The annual YANA Ride brings together riders of all ages, abilities, and disciplines in one massive community-wide event to raise funds in support of YANA families.

Register – Make a Pledge – Get Info

Registration starts June 1, 2025, and participating is as easy as 1-2-3!

  1. REGISTER & RALLY – Round up your friends, family, coworkers or riding crew and register as a team! Rallying together makes fundraising more fun and impactful — and every team member’s tax-receiptable registration donation counts toward your collective goal. Prefer to ride solo? No problem — individual riders are always welcome too! However you roll, you’ll be riding for local families who need it most.
  2. RIDE & RAISE – Choose your Challenge tracking distance, time, number of trails, or number of communities you’ve ridden in, OR chart your very own course. Ride on Sunday, August 17th, or any day between August 1st to 17th, collecting pledges along the way. 
    • Distance Challenge – YANA supported 271 children and pregnant mothers last year. 
      • Gather pledges for the 271 kms you ride for this challenge. 
    • Time Challenge – YANA helped families with 588 medical trips last year. 
      • Gather pledges for the 588 minutes you ride for this challenge. 
    • Trail Challenge– YANA helps children tackle the toughest terrain of their medical journey. 
      • Gather pledges as you ride 3 off-road trails for this challenge. 
    • Communities Challenge –  YANA helps families from every Comox Valley community. 
      • Gather pledges as you ride in 3 communities for this challenge.
    • OR Chart Your Own Course riding and gathering pledges as you ride between Aug 1st-17th. Consider becoming a YANA Ambassador Rider to help promote YANA’s fundraising efforts by sharing your adventures.
  3. REUNITE at the massive PARTY IN THE PARK celebration on Sunday, August 17th from 11AM to 4PM at Comox Marina Park. Riders, families, friends, and YANA supporters far and wide are welcome!!

This is a party you won’t want to miss! Party in the Park highlights include:

  • Finish line and congratulation stations
  • Sponsor donated prizes for every fundraising rider and the official 2025 YANA Ride t-shirt for the top 200 fundraisers
  • Beer garden
  • Live music and entertainment
  • Activities for kids, and kids at heart
  • 50/50 raffle, Golf Ball Drop, giveaways and draws
  • Silent Auction loaded with bike gear and accessories
  • Your favourite Marina Park food trucks and seaside snacks
  • …..and MORE!

 

Register – Make a Pledge – Get Info
Become a YANA Ride Ambassador
Volunteer for the 2025 YANA Ride
Online Silent Auction Aug 1-17

 

🎉💖 Thank you, Karem! 💖🎉

She turned her 50th birthday party into something truly magical! Instead of gifts, she gave the gift of community by asking your amazing guests to donate to YANA — and wow, did they show up! 🙌 Thank you for making YANA part of your celebration and for proving that 50 is fabulous and full of love.

We are immensely thankful to Boston Pizza for selecting YANA as the recipient of this year’s Hearts Campaign! 🫶

Between January 14th and February 14th, guests showed their love by donating through purchasing paper hearts, enjoying delicious Salted Caramel Panookie desserts (yum!), and ordering heart-shaped pizzas on Valentine’s Day. Thanks to all of your generosity and Boston Pizza’s big-hearted support, a total of $713 was raised for YANA! 💕🍕

We are deeply grateful to Chamya for her incredible generosity and heart. She just wrapped up her Mother’s Day photo sessions and chose to donate 20% of the proceeds to support our cause — a beautiful way to honor moms and give back at the same time.💗

We are beyond grateful to Jody Murray, one of our star volunteers, for choosing YANA as the recipient of her Scotia Wealth Management donation! Through her incredible generosity and dedication, Jody has donated $1,000 since November 2023, which is an amazing contribution that directly supports children and families in our community. This was achieved by Jody logging volunteer hours, with the company providing a grant of $15 per hour volunteered, up to the annual maximum of $1,000! Jody, your commitment to making a difference is inspiring, and your support means the world to us. Thank you for being such a passionate advocate for YANA—we’re so lucky to have you in our corner!

A huge heartfelt thank you to Sally Long and her amazing family for hosting a garage sale this past Saturday — and for generously donating 100% of the proceeds to YANA! Thanks to their incredible effort and community spirit, $1263.77 was raised to support local families. Amazing!! Thank you Sally!

A huge thank you to Quantum Dental for organizing a silent auction at their staff holiday party and choosing to donate every dollar raised — an amazing $1,565 — to YANA 🦷😁

✨ A huge thank you to Design Therapy Inc. for their generous donation of $821 from their online auction — with all proceeds going to YANA! ✨
Your support helps ensure that families in our community know they are not alone. We’re so grateful!

Valley Vonka golden ticket countdown: Sweet treats for a great cause

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Originally published by the Comox Valley Record, April 25, 2025

Black Press Media Staff  – Comox Valley Record

Calling all chocolate lovers — time’s almost up!

You have until Monday, April 28, to turn in your golden tickets for this year’s Valley Vonka contest. This isn’t just a chocolate fix — it’s a treasure hunt.

Hidden in more than 3,000 bars made by Comox Valley’s own Hot Chocolates are five golden tickets, and at least three are still out there. The bars are scattered across participating businesses throughout the Valley, so your chances are still very real.

Need a place to start? You can still pick up Valley Vonka bars at Peninsula Co-op and Hot Chocolates — but don’t wait, they won’t last long. Each chocolate bar you buy supports YANA (You Are Not Alone), a local non-profit that helps Comox Valley families with children who need to travel for medical care.

Each golden ticket is worth between $780 and $1,000. Prizes include:

  • The Ultimate Relaxation Package: A luxurious stay at The Old House Resort & Spa, a delectable dinner at a local restaurant, and a family spa day (Value: $1,000)
  • A Healing Escape: Experience the magical Healing Caves at the Kingfisher Pacific Resort and Spa, an experience for four (Value: $780)
  • Save on Fuel: A Peninsula Co-Op Gas Card (Value: $1,000)
  • Shopping Spree Time: A Canadian Tire Shopping Spree (Value: $1,000)
  • Grocery Goodness: A Quality Foods Gift Card (for Comox and Courtenay stores – Value: $1,000)

So whether or not you find a ticket, you’re doing something great for your community.

Find gold, do good, and don’t forget — tickets must be turned in by April 28!