Assembling 1,500 breakfast bags full of goodies provided by a multitude of sponsors is a major organizational task associated with the Maxine DeHart-Ramada United Way Drive-Thru Breakfast over its history.
That organization effort has largely been executed through the manpower support of volunteers, the most long-time supporters being members of the Telus Ambassadors and Kelowna Hostesses.
Evelin Irons, with Kelowna Hostesses, has been assisting with that task since the beginning, since the inaugural drive-thru breakfast in 1998 as a United Way fundraiser.
Back then, the breakfast bag tally was 500 and has grown over more than two decades to 1,500.
"That seems to be the right amount," said Pat Moore, a Telus ambassador who has helped out with the drive-thru breakfast since day one in 1998 as well.
For 20 years, the annual three-hour drive-thru breakfast has raised more than $850,000 for local United Way supported agencies, with the final event in 2018 prior to COVID pulling in $110,053. It was revived for another farewell in 2022.
While speaking to Capital News on Thursday, the final stage of this year's breakfast bags was ready to be handed out, marking the end of another busy lead-up to this year's event.
Irons says she volunteered for three hours on Tuesday, 2.5 hours on Wednesday and three hours on Thursday (starting at 5:30 a.m.) to complete the breakfast bag preparation process.
Asked what brings her back every year to help out, Irons points to how the drive-thru proceeds benefit local community organizations that otherwise don't have the resources to fundraise on their own.
"The money stays in our community and helps local people," Irons said.
Moore adds that DeHart always makes it fun as everyone feeds off her energy and enthusiasm, and she makes sure the volunteers are appreciated for their efforts.
"It has always been something of a social gathering where people come together to see each other and share in doing something positive for our community," Moore said.
"If you look outside, you will see the mayor here, the RCMP, the military..."
Irons says she will be disappointed if this is the last DeHart breakfast, noting how the Ramada Hotel's new owners wanted to revive the fundraiser again and see first-hand all that is involved with it, while the sponsors continue to share in their enthusiasm to support it.
"It is just such a positive thing for our community," Irons lamented.
For Moore, he remains amazed at the energy of DeHart to keep on top of the organization, starting Tuesday night until the last donated dollar is tabulated by noon on Thursday.
"I'm not sure how she does it," Moore laughed. "But the great thing for us as volunteers is she knows many of us have been doing this for a long time, we know what we are doing, and she lets us do our thing."
