Category: News

Donor Appreciation BBQ 2026

It was a day of smiles and celebration at our 3rd annual Donor Appreciation Open House and BBQ! Thank you to everyone who joined us, we are so grateful to the incredible Cowichan community and it was very special to be able to share some updates and insights about Quw’utsun Valley Hospital and the way that your donations are having a real impact.

    

Thank you to our Board members who helped with set up and grilling, to all the representatives of Island Health who spared the time to talk personally with our donors, to the fabulous Sun FM Noah and team who broadcast live-on-location and added tonnes of fun, to artist April Lacheur for sharing a sneak peek at her custom creation for the QVH Donor Appreciation Wall, to Matt Sager from Queen Margaret’s School for introducing the upcoming Classics for Kids Car Raffle, to Duncan Dairy Queen for Dilly Bars for all! Most of all, thank you to all our donors and supporters.

Find more photos from the event here

Dr P Moustache Shave Fundraiser

 

Dr Willie Pewarchuk is retiring after 32 years at CDH. Everyone who has ever met him will remember his fabulous and well-groomed moustache. Now, that famous facial hair is going to be removed, and Dr Pewarchuk is hoping to have some fun and raise some funds for Cowichan’s new hospital.

 

 

Friends and colleagues are being encouraged to make a donation before December 6th and Dr Pewarchuk is going to match those donations – up to $10,000. Thanks to the Jim Pattison ‘Donations Doubled’ match we will be able to double the grand total of the fundraiser. Dr Pewarchuk has a goal to raise $40,000, a significant amount towards our current campaign, helping us finish strong.

DONATE ONLINE HERE

 

UPDATE:
The big Moustache Razing Ceremony will take place on the ice at the Cowichan Captials game on Saturday December 6th. This will be a fun ‘Hockey for Healthcare’ evening with lots of community spirit including a silent auction of hockey art, the Teddy Bear Toss and Dr P’s moustache shave. We hope many supporters will join us at the game. Tickets are available online or at the door, $18 per adult with children under 17 free with a paying adult!

Holiday Smile Cookies Support CDHF

 

This Holiday season share some smiles with your friends and family, and spread the cheer with Cowichan District Hospital Foundation. Tim Hortons Holiday Smile Cookies are back for the season from November 17 – November 23rd. Orders from restaurants across the Cowichan Valley will support Cowichan District Hospital Foundation!

Tim Hortons Holiday Smile Cookies are a delicious white chocolate sugar cookie infused with red and green sprinkles and hand-decorated with a white icing smile face. There’s no better way to treat your family, friends, and co-workers while also making a difference in your local community!   

Proceeds from every cookie sold at the following Tim Hortons will support healthcare for Cowichan:

Mill Bay, Deloume Rd
Lake Cowichan, North Shore Rd
Cowichan Bay, 4790 Trans-Canada Hwy
Duncan, Trunk Road
Duncan, Beverly St
Duncan, Drinkwater Rd
Duncan, Cowichan Lake Rd (Berkey’s Corner)

You’ll be able to add a cookie to your order in-store during Holiday Smile Cookie week, but you can also pre-order boxes of 12 for pick up. Use the form below to place your order. When complete you can return it to our office by email: info@cdhfoundation.ca or you can call our office and we’ll take all your details: 250.701.0399

Click to download order form

Nickelback Guitar Raffle

We have a winner !


Ticket A-7080 was the winning ticket in our Rockin’ Out for Healthcare raffle. Congratulations to the winnner, Chelsea B – thank you to everyone who bought a ticket, we raised over $12,500 through the raffle which will be doubled thanks to our Jim Pattison donation match campaign.


Thank you to RBC Duncan for arranging the donation of the Nickelback guitar and helping us promote the raffle, you rock 🤘

L – R
Naomi Low (CDHF CEO), David Robertson (CDHF Board Chair), Garrett D’Argis (Houle, VI Superintendent), Chelsea Banner (Winner! Electrical worker at new hospital construction site), Phil Venoit (Financial Secretary IBEW Local 230), Molly MacShannon (RBC Community Manager)

We were delighted to meet our winner Chelsea and discover that not only is she a huge Nickelback fan and a keen musician herself, but she is also currently working at the new hospital construction site.  We had great support from the IBEW Local 230 who generously bought a ticket each for every one of the electrical workers on site. That was a tremendous way for them to give back to this important project, and then it made it very special for the winning ticket drawn to be one of theirs. Congratulations Chelsea!

In Chelsea’s words:

“There couldn’t be a better thing to do a fundraiser for, it’s going to be a beautiful building for a beautiful community.”

Smile Cookies Support CDHF

 

The Tim Hortons Smile Cookie is coming back from April 28 – May 4, and you can order yours to support Cowichan District Hospital Foundation! This spring the cheery, charitable cookies will be a new recipe – ooey gooey chocolate chunk – priced at $2 each. At the Mill Bay location only, proceeds from every cookie sold will support healthcare for Cowichan.

You’ll be able to add a cookie to your order in-store during the Smile Cookie week, but you can also pre-order boxes of 12 for pick up. Use the form below to place your order. When complete you can return it to our office by email: info@cdhfoundation.ca or you can call our office and we’ll take all your details: 250.701.0399

Note: Only Smile Cookies bought from the Mill Bay location from April 28 – May 4 2025, will support CDHF

Landmark Gift from Lake Cowichan Community

Cheque presentation event April 4, 2025 from Cowichan Lake Community Forest Coop to Cowichan District Hospital Foundation

Transformative Gift Supports Equipment Purchase for Cowichan’s New Hospital

We are so grateful today for an extraordinary gift from the community to our new hospital campaign. At an event hosted at the BC Forestry Centre in North Cowichan, attended by representatives from provincial and municipal government, local First Nations, and community members, the Board of Cowichan Lake Community Forest Cooperative presented a cheque to CDHF Board Chair David Robertson. The $200,000 donation is the largest ever made by the group, who felt inspired by the current matching donation campaign which will see their donation doubled.

A second, significant donation was presented from Qala:yit Forestry, jointly owned by the Forest Co-operative and the Pacheedaht First Nation. Their $50,000 gift was gratefully received by the CDHF. The combined $250,000 donated will be doubled thanks to the pledge from Jimmy Pattison to match donations up to five million dollars in support of purchasing medical equipment for Cowichan’s new hospital. Today’s donation will add half a million dollars to the new hospital fundraising campaign.

Lorne Scheffer, Cowichan Lake Community Forest Cooperative Board Chair, shared the impetus for the donation, the largest the group has ever made: “We are grateful to Mr. Pattison for his offer to match donations to the Cowichan District Hospital Foundation, an offer that gave us an extra incentive to step up and make the donation we are announcing today.  This is a unique opportunity, and we hope other interests in Cowichan will follow suit. This new hospital is a one-in-a-generation opportunity to help ensure it is equipped with the best technology we can afford.”

CDHF Board Chair, David Robertson, summed up the feelings of the whole CDHF Board: “We were stunned and incredibly grateful when we learned of this significant donation from Cowichan Lake Community Forest Cooperative and Qala:yit. To receive funds like this is a true testament to the strength of our community and demonstrates how important exceptional healthcare is to those who live and work in the Cowichan Valley. We feel sure that others will be inspired by this transformational gift and thank everyone involved for their commitment to the future of our new hospital.”