There is one Student Award application cycle for post-secondary students per year.
Deadline: The deadline is 12 noon on May 15.
Value and Number of Awards: The value of each award is dependent upon financial market performance of the Foundation investments. In 2019, over $70,000 was awarded to 51 local students.
The successful recipient of the Alan J. Witherspoon Memorial Fine Arts Award received $3,500.
The successful recipient of the Bidder Bursary Award received an additional $400.
The successful recipient of the Erwin Kloos Memorial Award received an additional $400.
Support students and young people in the expansion of their education and career skills
Arnold Ellis Scholarship Fund
Arnold Ellis wished that others could have the educational opportunities he never had. His legacy will support Columbia Valley students, in perpetuity, to reach their potential through education, ultimately benefiting their community and country. This fund was established in February 2004. Income from this fund will be distributed to provide scholarships and bursaries to youth attending training and education at recognized post-secondary institutions. This fund supports tuition and fees, as well as other expenditures such as travel, tools, books, work clothing and safety equipment, childcare, room and board.
Key Eligibility Criteria for the Arnold Ellis Scholarship Fund:
- The applicant is between 17 and 35 years of age
- The applicant has been a resident and a full-time K-12 student in a Columbia Valley public school for a minimum of five years
- Applicants are eligible to obtain a maximum of two (2) student awards (may be in non-subsequent years). Repeat applicants must have submitted a Letter of Impact for the first award by the deadline date (Deadline is March 30).
- This grant award is not intended for youth eligible or registered in the public school system.
- Currently attending, or planning to attend and accepted by, any accredited post-secondary institution in Canada (or internationally) for the purposes of education, trades/skills training or upgrading education.
Bidder Bursary
Established in October 2006. Income from this fund will be distributed to provide bursaries to youth attending training and education at recognized post-secondary institutions.
Erwin Kloos Memorial Fund
Established in 2017, income from this fund to support Columbia Valley students with post-secondary education with particular focus on students pursuing trades and technical schooling.
Alan J. Witherspoon Memorial Fine Arts Fund
Alan J. Witherspoon loved the arts. Through the Alan J. Witherspoon Memorial Fine Arts Fund his passion for the arts will live on. This fund will support Columbia Valley youth pursuing an education in the fine arts.
Key Eligibility Criteria for the Alan J. Witherspoon Memorial Fund:
- The applicant is between 17 and 35 years of age.
- The applicant has been a resident and a full-time K-12 student in a Columbia Valley public school for a minimum of five years.
- The applicant is pursuing education in at least one of the following disciplines: Painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, woodworking and wood carving, architecture, music, poetry, photography, video production/editing, design, sequential art, conceptual art and printmaking.
- Applicants will need to demonstrate financial need (outlined in application)
- Applicants are required to submit two (2) images of their present work.
Support students and young people in the expansion of their education and career skills
Greg Constable Toyota Corolla Fund
The funds for this student award were raised in 2017 through the raffle of Greg Constable’s 1982 Toyota Corolla – the vehicle that he drove for 35 years to his job as the music teacher at the local high school.
The student must be residing with a single, unsupported parent during the last year of high school and must be enrolled in a diploma/certificate/degree program of two years’ duration or longer at a post-secondary institution.
Tom Sanders Memorial Fund
Established in December 2002. Income from this fund will be distributed to provide post-secondary student awards in consultation with the Kinsmen Club of the Windermere Valley.