The United Way will continue to pay it forward with the support of the local community and over $22,000 in donations.

The 12th annual Drive-Thru Breakfast for the United Way of B.C. sa国际传媒� Southern Interior was held on April 11 and raised $22,165 for programs in the region, the Penticton Lakeside Resort announced on social media.

This year the focus of where the funds will go is on programs that help support kids and youth in the South Okanagan Similkameen.

sa国际传媒淥ne of the programs we have is called the Children and Youth Mental Health Fund and the Foundry here in Penticton received that money last year for a peer-led program,sa国际传媒� said Naomi Woodland, the regional coordinator for the United Way. sa国际传媒淲hat that means is that vulnerable youth can connect with a peer to someone their own age, someone with some lived experience who they feel safe with so they can get support accessing things like mental health services or food security.sa国际传媒�

In addition to the youth programs, funds from the United Way also go to support other programs such as food security.

Previous years have seen support for programs like the food hub that was established with the Lower Similkameen Indian Band.

Other organizations that the United Way partners with also receive funding, such as the Canadian Mental Health Associationsa国际传媒檚 Penticton branch.

sa国际传媒淲e run a meals program for people with a mental health diagnosis, and we have about 400 members that come into the clubhouse,sa国际传媒� said Leah Schulting, the Penticton CMHAsa国际传媒檚 executive director. sa国际传媒淥ur dishwasher was broken, and through the United Waysa国际传媒檚 grant, we were able to fund a new commercial dishwasher, which is a huge benefit to us because otherwise wesa国际传媒檇 have to be bleaching and sanitizing and hand washing everything.sa国际传媒�

The United Way has also funded the meal program in other ways over the past years such as with funds for the purchasing of food.

Events like the breakfast are only possible through the help of volunteers and the support of the community. Many of the organizations that work with the United Way also volunteer to help with the breakfast fundraiser, with four local executive directors helping out on April 11.