Merritt residents Frank and Almerina Rizzardo are loyal donors to many charitable organizations in B.C.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED / RIH Foundation

The Royal Inland Hospital Foundation got a generous early Christmas gift from a family in Merritt.

The Rizzardo Family donated $200,000 for medical equipment and technology for the new patient care tower under construction at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, according to a RIH Foundation media release.

Healthcare has played an important role in the Rizzardo family's life. The eldest son works at Emcon Services Inc., which provides road, bridge and mechanical contract services in B.C., Alberta and Ontario. Two sons are physicians, and the fourth is a pharmacist.

“We chose to donate to healthcare, to the local hospital in Merritt, the regional hospital in Kamloops, as well as to major centres in Vancouver," father Frank Rizzardo said in the release. "These are all facilities that our family has benefitted from in the past and we would like to ensure that other families throughout the province also have access to excellent healthcare."

The family chose to go public with their donation to encourage others to give back where it counts.

“We decided to go public with this donation as we would like to encourage others to donate as well," he said. "As a regional hospital, RIH supports a huge area. Donations, of any size, from the entire catchment area will go a long way to continued improvement in healthcare at RIH."

RIH Foundation CEO Heidi Coleman expressed gratitude for the substantial donation.

“As the new Patient Care Tower is being built, there is a growing sense of excitement and anticipation," she said. "This feeling is augmented with the Rizzardo’s donation. Their gift is a wonderful example of giving back to the larger community by supporting the regional hospital."

The Rizzardos are loyal donors to many charitable organizations in B.C. such as the Nicola Valley Health Care Endowment Foundation in Merritt, Vancouver General Hospital and UBC Hospital Foundation, and the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation.

“Our goal is to recognize these services and to contribute where help is needed," Frank said.

"This fits well with what we were taught as kids, help out and give back when and where you can.”

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