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Some visits leave us with full hearts, heavy hearts, and a whole lot of emotions. Last week we had one of those days at YANA. ❤️ Someone walked through our office doors with a donation, and what followed was a conversation that will stay with us for a long time.

A while back, YANA supported his family as they went through an incredibly difficult medical journey with his daughter. Heartbreakingly, he lost his beautiful girl, something no parent should ever have to experience.

When we saw his kind, familiar smile at our door, we were touched to learn that he’d come back because he wanted to give back.

As we chatted, he shared a little about life since losing his daughter. The grief, the heartbreak, and how you somehow find a way to keep going when such a huge piece of your world is missing.

He talked about how his daughter still tells him what to do. To get outside, enjoy the sunshine, keep moving, and walk, walk, walk. And so he does. ❤️

It’s hard to put into words how much that conversation meant to us.

After everything this dad has been through, he still remembers the support his family received from YANA. Now, his generous donation will help ensure another family has that same support when they need it most.

To this wonderful dad, thank you. Thank you for your gift, for spending this time with us, and for trusting us with a little piece of your story and your daughter’s memory. We are so grateful that you took the time to share it with us.

Once a YANA family, always a YANA family. 🩵💛🧡💚

When the team at Kelly O’Bryan’s recently acquired some patio furniture for their pub, the generous seller refused to accept any payment. Rather than letting that kindness end there, Kelly O’Bryan’s decided to pay it forward by making a donation to YANA! 🥰

For owner-operator Shaun Spooner, giving back to the community is especially close to his heart. Having grown up with a single mother who faced her share of hardships, Shaun understands just how meaningful a little extra support can be for a family going through challenging times.

We are so incredibly grateful to Shaun and the Kelly O’Bryan’s team for turning a simple act of generosity into something that will make a difference for YANA families.

They say it takes a village, and here at YANA, we are reminded time and time again just how INCREDIBLE our village truly is! 🥹

Sometimes, the biggest acts of kindness happen behind the scenes, and today we want to shine a HUGE spotlight on some amazing people who have gone above and beyond to support YANA!

🔨 First, an ENORMOUS thank you to Ryan and the fantastic team at McQueen Construction! Not only did they generously donate their time, talent, and expertise to build our new storage unit mezzanine, but they also covered the ENTIRE cost of the project! Every material, every hour of hard work, every little detail, all given from the goodness of their hearts. We are absolutely blown away by this extraordinary generosity! 

🛠️ A HUGE thank you to Central Builders for their generosity and support in helping bring this project to life! Having wonderful local businesses step up makes such a difference, and we are so grateful for the kindness and community spirit they brought to this project!

🏒 A BIG shoutout to the Comox Valley Glacier Kings! These amazing community champions traded their hockey sticks for some heavy lifting and helped us tackle the big move from one storage unit to our new one! Many hands make light work, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the muscle, energy, and helping hands they brought to the job!

💙 And finally, a heartfelt thank you to Balfe Martin Private Wealth of RBC Dominion Securities, whose remarkable generosity is actually where this whole story began! 🫶 By generously covering the cost of our new storage unit, Brian Balfe and Sean Martin made something possible for YANA that would otherwise have been out of reach. Their gift gave us the space we needed and sparked a whole chain of community kindness that helped us make the most of it! We are SO grateful for their generosity and their never-ending belief in YANA!

✨ Different people. Different talents. One incredible community. ✨

At YANA, we often talk about the importance of ensuring families know they are not alone. But the truth is, YANA is never alone either. Behind everything we do is a community of people who show up, roll up their sleeves, open their hearts, and ask, “How can we help?”

And THAT is what makes the Comox Valley so incredibly special. 

To McQueen Construction, Central Builders, the Glacier Kings, and Brian Balfe and Sean Martin – Balfe Martin Private Wealth: THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts! Your kindness reaches far beyond the walls of a storage unit. It helps build the foundation of support that allows YANA to continue being there for local families when they need it most.

This is community. This is generosity. This is YANA. 🩵💛🧡💚

Heartfelt THANK YOU for a generous grant recommended by the JK2L Charitable Account, facilitated by the Strategic Charitable Giving Foundation! 🥹

We are so incredibly grateful for this thoughtful support and the kindness behind it! Generosity like this helps YANA continue to be there for Comox Valley families who need to travel for medical care, reminding them that they are never alone. 

Thank you for believing in what we do and for helping us spread a whole lot of LOVE to local families! 🩵💛🧡💚

Who knew your empty bottles and cans could make such a BIG difference?! 🥹🫶

A YANA THANK YOU to everyone who has been donating their bottle and can refunds to YANA through the Return-It Express system!

Every bottle, every can, and every little refund adds up to something truly special for local families who need to travel for medical care. 💕

We absolutely LOVE seeing our community find creative, everyday ways to give back! What might seem like a small gesture makes a BIG impact when we all come together.

So, to everyone who has turned their empties into a little extra LOVE for YANA, THANK YOU! Your kindness means the world to us! 🩵💛🧡💚

Small returns. BIG Impact. ♻️

A HUGE THANK YOU to the incredible team at Liberty Kitchen for choosing YANA as the recipient of the tips from their Thirsty Rehearsals this past summer, raising an INCREDIBLE $8,425 FOR YANA! 🤯

Before officially opening their doors, the Liberty Kitchen team welcomed employees’ friends and families, along with our YANA crew, to experience Liberty Kitchen Crown Isle! Over two days of delicious food, fantastic drinks, and wonderful hospitality, EVERY SINGLE TIP received was generously donated to YANA! 🥹🫶

Our YANA team absolutely LOVED being part of the excitement, and we couldn’t be more grateful to have been included in such a special beginning!

What an AMAZING way to kick off your journey in the Comox Valley! Your generosity and community spirit have absolutely blown us away. Thank you for turning your exciting new beginning into BIG LOVE for local families! 🩵💛🧡💚

🎶 Beautiful music with a beautiful purpose! 💛

We’re delighted to introduce Bel Curve, a new local musical group featuring singers Carol Anne Parkinson, Paulina Harskkamp and Orlando Wiebe, accompanied by pianist Wendy Dyck.

Bel Curve is bringing intimate home concerts to the Comox Valley, and in September, they performed at the home of Mary Hodkins, a YANA supporter, where guests were invited to attend by donation to YANA. We are so grateful to Bel Curve, Mary, and everyone who attended for turning an evening of beautiful music into support for YANA families. 

And we love the story behind their name! The bell curve is the curve of a grand piano where a singer stands, but the group dropped one “L” as a nod to bel canto, Italian for “beautiful singing.” 🎹🎶

Bel Curve is just getting started, and we’re so excited to see where their music takes them and be a part of their journey!

One YANA family recently found themselves unexpectedly needing to leave the Comox Valley for medical care for their child and unsure of what the days ahead might bring. Before they left, they received YANA emergency funding right at the hospital, offering some immediate support during an uncertain and stressful time.

Thankfully, they were able to return home much sooner than expected and were incredibly grateful that the situation wasn’t as serious as they had feared. 

Knowing YANA’s support was there if they needed it, this family chose to pay their emergency funding forward so it can help the next local family who unexpectedly finds themselves travelling for medical care. 🥹

Families supporting families. Kindness coming full circle. This is the heart of YANA. 🩵💛🧡💚

We are so happy to see this family return home and so so so grateful they chose to pay that support forward for future YANA Families!!!!

Our hearts are VERY full with this one! 🥹🩵💛🧡💚

For Meadow’s 3rd birthday, her family decided to celebrate in an incredibly special way by asking for donations to YANA in lieu of birthday gifts! 🎂🎈

And the kindness didn’t stop there! Meadow’s amazing parents, Nick and Mandy, MATCHED the donations, making their family’s already thoughtful gift to YANA even more impactful. 🥰

This wonderful family holds an extra-special place in our YANA hearts because they are also proud YANA volunteers! Whether they’re giving their time, lending a hand, or finding beautiful ways like this to support YANA families, they truly embody what community is all about. 🫶

Meadow, you may only be THREE, but you are already making a BIG difference in your community!!!!

Thank you to Miracle Beach Elementary for supporting YANA with their Primary Gym Sale and showing the community how much impact they can make when you come together. We absolutely LOVE seeing young people getting involved in giving back to their community. It’s such a beautiful reminder that you are never too young to make a difference; kindness has no age limit!!!!