ROTARY STUDENT BURSARY APPLICATIONS WELCOMED BY JUNE 30
GRAVENHURST — “It takes a community to raise a child.”
That’s the philosophy behind the Gravenhurst Rotary Club’s Bursary Endowment fund, which is now accepting applications till the end of June for this fall’s post-secondary studies, says a release.
To qualify for a bursary, the applicant must be either, going to school in Gravenhurst, or be a Gravenhurst resident and actively pursuing a post-secondary education. If a student is from Gravenhurst and attending a Catholic Schools in Bracebridge or Orillia, they may also be eligible for a bursary.
Previous Bursary Award winners may apply each year they are at school. Members of the Rotary Club and their families are not eligible.
Last year 26 students from Gravenhurst were accepted at universities such as Queen’s, York and Toronto, and colleges such as Fanshawe, Algonquin and Georgian.
They were assisted by citizens from Gravenhurst who over the past 12 years have made donations to the Rotary Bursary Endowment Fund.
This year the fund, together with a private donation from a generous cottager, will provide more than $100,000.00 in bursaries to help students and their families who are in need of assistance to pursue a higher education.
The Rotary Club of Gravenhurst initiated the fund in 2009 for those wishing to obtain a degree, diploma or certificate from a university, college or trade program of their choice. There is no age limit and the student’s marks are not required on the application.
Through the generosity of over 150 Gravenhurst and area residents, 19 stand-alone bursaries have been set up in families names providing between $1,200 and $4,000 each.
In addition to the Rotary bursaries will be provided by the following families who have donated $25,000.00 or more to the Endowment Fund:
- Mary E. McSheffery Memorial Bursary
- Norman Rippon Family Bursary
- Everett and Florence Doherty Family Bursary
- Ross and Betty Franklin Family Bursary
- Audrey and Fred Brown Family Bursary
- William and Dora Rathbun Family Bursary
- Agnes Lina Cook Memorial Bursary
- Terence Haight Memorial Bursary
- Glen and Phyllis Williams Family Bursary
- Isabel Heels Memorial Bursary
- Goodwin Family Bursary
- Frankish Family Bursary
- Vellinga Family Bursary
- Enno and Marina Hoekstra Family Bursary
- Jack and Sandra Young Family Bursary
- Patricia Patterson Family Bursary
- John Vail Family Bursary,
- Dorothy Liddle Bursary Fund
Ken Little, chair of the fund, said in the release: “The community should be proud of their involvement in the success of the children from our community.
“For some families, just knowing there is help in our community for their children is changing the perceptions of some parents of lower income families. It also changes the expectations of children if they know there is financial assistance.
“It’s important for parents and children to know there is help — right here in our community for their next generation to get a better education.”
Rotarian Richard Augustine, an accountant, member of the bursary fund committee and advisor on the fund, adds: “The bursaries come from the dividends and interest earned on the investments from the donations we receive.
“We do not spend the donations, we invest them. As the fund grows we can give more and more to students who have a dream of a better life.
“The fund has grown substantially from Rotary’s initial donation of $50,000, which provided $2,500 in 2009 to a substantial endowment providing more than $80,000 this year.”
The Rotary Bursary Endowment Fund continues to receive donations annually from individuals in the community and encourages those who as a result of inheritance, lottery or their own hard work find themselves in a position to gift over $25,000, to speak to the chairman about becoming a sustaining member with your own family bursary.
Each and every year a bursary will be given to a student in your name and the student will receive an accompanying story of you or your family.
Your legacy will live on each year in a new child’s appreciative heart.
It is a registered charity and provides tax receipts.
“Help us, to help children, trying to help themselves,” says Little
Applications for the 2021-2022 year of study are available at the local high schools or on the website at www.BursaryFund.ca, where you will also find full details regarding qualifications, special donors and its history.
Fully completed applications must be received by June 30. They can be mailed to the Rotary Bursary Endowment Fund, Box 888, Gravenhurst, Ontario, P1P 1V2
Or they can be dropped off to Little at Muskoka Real Estate Services, 810 Bay St. in Gravenhurst. His phone number is 705-687-7777.
