A whopping $65,936 was raised in just the third annual Okanagan Indian Band's (OKIB) Charity Golf Tournament.

The monies will be going towards the construction of the new Cultural Immersion School . 

Held at The Rise Golf Course in Vernon, 152 golfers from across Canada came out to compete and show their support for the nk虂maplqs i蕯 snm虂am虂a虂ya蕯tn i蕯 k虂l sqilx史t蓹t (Head of the lake Where our Children Go to Learn our Indigenous Ways) school on Friday, Sept. 6.

鈥淥ur targeted fundraising goals for the Cultural Immersion School exceeded $20 million dollars," said Tetku Marchand of the OKIB group of companies. "With our three annual tournaments we鈥檝e been able to surpass our goals with over $274,378 raised to date."

Marchand added that the annual tournament has become so popular that 73 people were on the waitlist this year, and several sponsors have been calling him, wanting to re-up for 2025. 

"We cannot thank this year鈥檚 sponsors, players, and volunteers enough for their unwavering support to the Cultural Immersion School which is so needed in our community," Marchand said. "Our children are currently in old, overcrowded buildings, and modulars and your generosity has helped us get the construction started that much sooner."

Currently, children are taught out of the old, 1956 Indian Day School building, which is well past its prime. The new school has a cost of $20 million, and although OKIB met all school design and construction requirements, there is no new capital funding for First Nations schools. 

Construction is set to begin in 2026.