BURSTThe KF Centre for Excellence in Kelowna was an exciting place to be the morning of Sept. 15.
The annual Haul for Hope fundraiser took place starting at 9 a.m. with 13 teams raising funds for Hope Air and competing for the best time in pulling a 67,000 pound WestJet plane.
There to share her story with competitors was Penticton’s Rhonda Caron, a Hope Air patient who was diagnosed with acute leukaemia.
Caron stayed with family in Vancouver while receiving treatment she could not get locally, but being away from home was a challenge.
When the cancer returned, Caron learned about Hope Air.
“Being able to go back and forth, I know it healed me,” Caron explained that Hope Air took away all the financial stress of travelling to medical appointments, paying for hotels, and other costs associated with making the trip. “I got to go home and laugh with my family. Laughing is medicine.”
Caron received a stem cell transplant in May 2025 and says now she feels fantastic.
The annual @HopeAir Haul for Hope took place in #Kelowna this morning. Check it out! @KelownaCapNews @BlackPressMedia pic.twitter.com/o646wngwUx
— Brittany Webster (@thebrittwebster) September 15, 2026
Team Leavitt won the plane pull with a time of 23.23 seconds. Organizers of the event said Kelowna was on track to meet its $50,000 goal to support Hope Air and patients across Canada needing to travel for necessary medical care.
“These people saved my life,” Caron said she was on top of the world seeing how many people came together to support Hope Air and patients like herself.
Learn more about Hope Air and the annual Haul for Hope fundraiser by visiting hopeair.ca.