The Columbia Valley Community Foundation is giving education a shot in the arm, having recently awarded scholarships to dozens of local students.
The foundation has been giving out student awards for years and, this year, 57 valley students have received a combined total of more than $57,000 through funds from three established donors, including the Arnold Ellis Scholarship Fund, the Opportunities for Youth Fund, and the Bidder Bursary Fund.
“We are excited to help open doors of the future to so many students,” said Columbia Valley Community Foundation Grants and Student Awards Committee chair Barb Kloos in a press release. “Through the generosity of these donors, we have awarded 91 students more than $118,000 in the last two years. This is an exceptional example of how we connect donors with causes that inspire them.”
The Arnold Ellis Scholarship Fund was established in 2004, and when Ellis passed away in 2012, he greatly bumped up the scholarship, leaving $1,475,000 to the Community Foundation (its largest donation received to date). Ellis had a Grade 8 education and wanted to help others further their education.
The Opportunities for Youth Fund was set up in 2006 by Arlene and George Loewen to support valley residents under the age of 21 in expanding their social, career and personal skills.
The Bidder Bursary Fund was established in 2006 in memory of Robert Bidder and provides funds to help young people from the valley go to trade schools, technical schools, and college and university institutions.
“The foundation is so pleased to be able to support students between the ages of 17 and 35 years pursuing post-secondary education and training all across the country and in such a wide variety of studies,” said Columbia Valley Community Foundation chair Roberta Hall in the press release. “These students have attended our valley schools for at least five years and are outstanding citizens in so many ways. We are proud of them and wish them every success in their educational pursuits.”
The Columbia Valley Community Foundation is a collection of endowment funds (now totalling more than $3.3 million). The funds are pooled and invested with the income distributed as grants to charitable organizations, and students across the whole valley.
Award Recipients
Stephen Bagan, Araleigh Cranch, Madeleine Danyluk, Alana Davison, Charlotte Dibb, Kevin Dibb, Ede Hunter, Courtney Falkmann, Kirsten Geiger, Blake Glassford, Henry Helmer-Smith, Lily Helmer-Smith, Mary Helmer-Smith, Erin Hillary, Dominique Jensen, Monika Juras, Melissa Kashuba, Sierra King, Megan Kinley, Blair Kloos, Nicole Kloos, Lauren Logan, Aleshia Maclean, Allissa Marchand, Haley McDonald, Montanna McIlwain, Sam McIlwain, Josephine Mouly, Jane Mouly, Megan Neale, Haley Newman, Leah Newman, Emily Paget, Logan Powell, Madison Prosser, Olivia Rad, Miranda Raven, Breanna Sass, Kiana Strand, Trygve Strand, Alexandra Taylor, Bradley Thomas, Ciona Thompson, Leigh Thompson, Carson Tomalty, Jesse Tomalty, Breton Trask, Hadrian Trask, Hudson Ukass, Emily Zehnder, Luke Zehnder, Sarah Zehnder, Emily Zurgilgen, and Jordan Messerli
