Scholarship donation a great helping hand
The Penticton Secondary Schools Bursary and Scholarship Foundation has received generous assistance from hundreds of donors since being founded in 1984.
The volunteer-driven charity recently received another thoughtful donation from Penticton businessman David Kampe, who gave $195,000 to the foundation to help students from lower-income families enter post-secondary education or vocational training.
Thirty bursaries of $5,000 each and 15 vocational awards of $3,000 each are now being made available to 2018 graduating students at Penticton Secondary School and Princess Margaret Secondary School who demonstrate a financial need.
“I’m sure there are other individuals or businesses in the community who can come forward to support our youth and donate a scholarship of $200 to $5,000 or more,” said Kampe.
“This could really give our financially challenged young people a helping hand.”
The donation effectively doubles the amount of award money the Bursary and Scholarship Foundation will be able to distribute this year.
It currently presents about 250 awards annually, with a total value of just under $200,000. The highest single award in 2017 was $3,000, with the majority in the $500 to $1,000 range.
Foundation president Bernice Greig agrees an enhanced endowment fund would greatly benefit students who might otherwise be unable to continue their education and training.
“The significance of these new gifts is that they’re of a size that truly reflects the cost of a post-secondary education today,” she said.
“They are large enough to really make the difference between going on and not going on to post-secondary education or vocational training.”
Greig noted the costs of post-secondary education have skyrocketed in the past generation. University tuition, which could cost $500 or less in the 1970s, now amounts to several thousand dollars. When books, accommodation and food are taken into account, the total bill can easily reach $15,000 to $20,000 a year.
This represents a major barrier to many graduating high school students and their families. Many students are unable to earn enough money in a summer job to attend classes that September.
The main criteria for determining the successful recipients of the new awards is financial need, then a student’s character, followed by school marks.
Vocational priorities also include students’ acceptance into the School District 67 apprenticeship program; current employment in a trades program; or a plan to enter a two- or four-year technical program at a post-secondary institute.
The Penticton Secondary Schools Bursary and Scholarship Foundation is a registered charity and all donations are tax deductible.
For more information on how to get involved, contact the Bursary and Scholarship Foundation at 158 Eckhardt Ave. East, Penticton, B.C., V2A 1Z3 or phone foundation director Bill Bidlake at 250-490-5376.