Sixteen South Okanagan students have been granted over $37,000 in bursaries, thanks to endowment funds created by local donors.
“This year three different endowment funds granted bursaries to local students of all ages. These endowment funds have been created by local donors who believe in the value of education and its power to improve quality of life for an individual and their family,” said Aaron McRann, executive director for the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan-Similkameen.
The Sharon Amos Legacy Fund for the Arts was established after the death of well-known community leader, Sharon Amos. This fund,, honours Amos’ contribution to the arts in Penticton, her role as committee chair for the Penticton Centennial in 2008, and as one of the founding members of Many Hats Theatre Company. The fund was created with seed capital provided by the Rotary Club of Penticton, and is sustained by the Amos family and Many Hats. The goal is to help fund tuition for worthy students who have chosen career paths in the performing arts, with $1,000 bursaries this year to Skye Eriksen, Ashley Porter and Anna Grandbois.
This year 10 students received the Dr. John and Kathy Scarfo Fund bursaries, with each student receiving over $3,000. These bursaries were awarded to students who live an active and healthy lifestyle and who are pursuing education in an effort to improve life for themselves and their families: Scott Buchanan, Hector Carlos, Judy Kurulak, Morgan Grigg, Tara Folk, Heather Maitland, Jaime Coates, Haley Paparoni, Rita Campbell and Denelle Bonneau.
Over the past three years, the South Okanagan Aboriginal Education Fund has awarded over $2,000 to local aboriginal students pursuing an education. An anonymous donor from the area established this fund in 2013 and shortly after, another anonymous donor came forward and donated an additional $10,000. This year three local students are the recipients of this bursary fund for just under $500 each: Reiley Terbasket, Madison Terbasket-Winser and Ashley Porter.
“Thank you so much to everyone who applied for bursaries this year. There were over 60 applications for bursaries and the allocations committee had a hard time making selections from so many deserving candidates. I encourage everyone to reapply next year when the bursary funding cycle opens again in March,” said McRann.