Hope air campaign raises $400,000

A fundraising drive in support of a charity that helps Canadian families access medical care in more distant urban centres surpassed its goal.

A total of $422,385 was raised for Hope Air.

The target had been $400,000.

The charity organizes flights involving private aircraft and volunteer pilots to get individuals and families in rural and remote areas to the medical care they need in larger centres.

Okanagan residents who can’t get the care they require at hospitals in Kelowna, Penticton, and Vernon have also been flown to Vancouver by Hope Air, sparing them long and repeated drives.

Money raised in this summer’s campaign will provide almost 1,700 flights, Hope Air says in a release.