LAMPE Foundation awards: an enduring tradition

The LAMPE Foundation has been awarding scholarships and bursaries to students in the Eastern Townships for almost 50 years. Over that time, countless students have benefitted from their scholarship programs and many have gone on to work in the Townships as community leaders, healthcare professionals, and teachers.

As the charitable foundation of the Canadian Federation of University Women Sherbrooke and District, the LAMPE foundation supports a wide variety of students at all levels of education.

“We give awards to local high schools, the universities, really at all levels,” said Heather Bowman, co-president of the LAMPE foundation, who explained that the foundation was started in 1973 by a group of university women. “They collected funds from bake sales, book sales, and were able to award four scholarships and $1,000 in the first year,”

Since those early days, the foundation has continued to grow to the point that the total amount of money awarded this year came to more than $44,000.

Any student working in high schools, universities, or on their post-graduate studies in the area can apply and qualify for the scholarships offered. The applications are available on the LAMPE Foundation’s website, and a selection committee reviews the applications to determine the best candidate.

“We give scholarships to students from Ontario, New Brunswick; they don’t have to be originally from the Townships,” said Bowman. “We have scholarships for students in fine arts, for students studying elementary education, and many are health focused.”

Bowman added that this year particular, students are struggling.

“Many are working online, which is easier for some than others,” she said. “The pandemic eroded our fundraising, but we’re lucky enough to have partnerships with the Coaticook Regional Fund and our own Heritage Fund that continues to support some of our scholarships. We’re proud and pleased to say that, despite the pandemic, we’ve still been able to award our scholarships and awards.”

There are countless success stories from students who have benefitted from the LAMPE Foundation’s scholarships and bursaries.

“Carolyn Fauteux, for example, was a nursing student who graduated first in her class,” said Bowman. “She went on to U de S studying in the bachelor’s program in for nursing and graduated as a nurse practitioner. She’s now working in the Sherbrooke area and had scholarships all throughout her education from us.”

Bowman and her team want to encourage students to apply to the scholarships and the community to donate to the foundation.

“Foundations like this, we all want to be able to give the scholarships and share with the community,” she said. “We’re proud of what we’re doing here, we’re all volunteers and it’s a real team. We believe in education and want to encourage and support students through their journey. This is our way of lighting the way to a better future.”

To apply or donate

LAMPE Foundation, visit lampefoundation.org.

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