Students in the South Okanagan and Similkameen are one step closer to reaching their educational goals, thanks to a local bursary program that’s seen close to $50,000 in donations collected this year.
A total of 24 youths have been rewarded through the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen’s annual fund.
This year’s efforts will see a fund of $49,690 distributed to students across the region.
Among those on the receiving end of the fund is Emily Nguyen, who says the award will help pay for her dance studies in Vancouver.
“This award brings me closer to realizing that dream and will ease the financial burden of my education for my family and me,” she said. “I am incredibly grateful that there are people in our community who are willing to support young people’s dreams and goals in this way.”
Nguyen is one of four students in the region who will continue a Penticton legacy of pursuing an education in the performing arts, thanks to the 13-year-old Sharon Amos Legacy Fund for the Arts.
Other recipients of the arts-related bursary include Maya Halverson, Samuel Kliever and Ellia Schutz.
Amos was one of the local residents who helped jumpstart the Many Hats Theatre Company in 2007, with the aforementioned fund in her name serving as one of the 10 bursaries awarded directly through the local Community Foundation.
The full list of student winners, courtesy of all the local bursary funds, can be found below:
Dr. John and Kathy Scarfo Bursary Fund
• Erin Campbell; Javier Carlos; Anika Freidt; Gradon Freidt; Lindsey Jones; Alexandria Johnstone; Alyse
Kohler-Mergel; Spencer Kingzett; Kalezafar Lawrence; Jessica ter Wolbeek; Megan Tiessen
L&R Supplementary Bursary Fund
• Jessie Fleet
Eva and Herbert Rosinger Scholarship Fund
• Jamison Foster, Josie Nickle
Culver Family Bursary Fund
• Amy Lucich
Irene and Charles Armstrong Bursary Fund
• Kaitlyn Nightingale
South Okanagan Indigenous Education Fund
• Cassidy Burns, Kayla Burns
Sharon Amos Legacy Fund for the Arts
• Maya Halverson; Samuel Kliever; Emily Nguyen; Ellia Schutz
Alana Matthew Fund
• Miles Murphy
Lynn and Brian Jackson Endowment for Fine Arts
• Hannah Ruttan
Thea Haubrich Legacy Fund
• Miles Murphy
Anyone wanting to donate funds in support of students’ goals across the region is asked to contact
contact Yuki Ihara yukiihara@cfso.net or
More information on all the bursary funds can be found here.
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