Kelowna Costco Employees Donate Thousands to Local United Way

Costco employees have stepped up to help out people in need in the Okanagan.

On Wednesday, they announced that they’ve raised $94,220 thanks to 100 per cent employee participation in their annual United Way Day of Caring campaign.

Mike Rizzo, general manager of the Costco in Kelowna, said they ask employees to participate in a payroll deduction to gather the donation, and Costco as a corporation matches 50 per cent of the donations made by employees in North America.

“We have a pretty generous group of employees,” said Rizzo. “Obviously it makes me very proud.”

During their campaign in October, they brought in speakers from the United Way and the organizations it supports. They also did a bus tour of some of the agencies that benefit from the United Way, and held a kick-off breakfast and a thank-you barbeque

Rizzo was formerly the general manager of the Costco in Grand Prairie, Alberta, and while there, he served on the board of directors for the local United Way for almost six years.

“So I kind of have some first-hand knowledge of the good and the benefit that the organizations like the United Way provide for non-profit organizations,” he explained. “As a business leader, I look at that as an obligation and a responsibility to do whatever we can help make the community we’re operating in as healthy as possible.”

Where the donations go is largely up to the United Way, unless the employees chose to direct-give to the organizations under the United Way, according to Rizzo.

Most of the money goes into the United Way general fund, and volunteer committees decide how to allocate it based on interviews with organizations that apply for funding.

Overall, Rizzo said he’s just happy that the staff reached out in such a major way.

“To have that much participation from everyone on the staff is extremely humbling,” he said.

The United Way issued a thank-you to Costco staff on Wednesday, for, “proving once again that they are committed to the community in which they work”.

For more information about the United Way of Central and South Okanagan/Similkameen, visit their website.