Tod Cooper (third in from right) poses with his family in front of the Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Hospice Home.

(MIKE MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS - From groceries to giving back, the people behind a new charitable foundation in Kamloops hopes to be a driving force behind several new projects in the region.

The family behind the chain of Coopers Foods grocery stores that once served Kamloops and the Interior has started the Cooper Family Foundation that will focus on collaborating with community members and groups to work on substantial projects exceeding $100,000.

“The creation of a professionally managed, charitable, family foundation allows the Cooper family to pay it forward to the Kamloops region," says Tod Cooper in a media release. "By applying knowledge, and skills, and harnessing community resources, the foundation will undertake projects to enhance the lives of area residents."

The first project to get the foundation's support will be Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Hospice Home. The foundation is calling its first initiative 'Wings Above Kamloops' and will allow the hospice home to expand several services including grief and bereavement counselling, spiritual care, alternative therapy and community outreach.

Former Kamloops councillor Nelly Dever is the president and CEO of the new foundation.

“For me, personally, I’m grateful and honored to be part of such a wonderful family foundation whose philosophies are based on helping those who help others," Dever says in the media release.

To help fund their inititives, the foundation is building a new home that will be auctioned off with the proceeds used for future charitable projects. Ground breaking on the home will take place Monday, Sept. 11, and once it's built there will be four weeks of silent bidding before the home is sold.

Construction of the Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Hospice Home expansion will take place when all the funds for the project have been received.

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