Welcome to CÉGEP Heritage College Foundation’s Blog page, where news and perspectives on what’s happening with our efforts to support the College and its students will be shared. Be sure to check out the EVENTS page and our Facebook page also, in order to keep up with the excitement in between blog posts and see pictures of our latest accomplishments!
They say that the more things change the more they stay the same. Over the last 10 years, the Heritage College Foundation has been through many changes. The Cegep Heritage College itself has changed, too: The physical space has expanded, the numbers of students and faculty has grown, and the ways students access education are just a few examples of the transformational change that has taken place. In addition, natural disasters and a global pandemic are challenges that the College has had to manage, and the Foundation rose to meet.
Despite these important changes, the nature of the fundamental challenges that Heritage College students face remain the same today as when the Foundation began its work in 2013. The increasing costs of food, housing and transportation, and the impact on students’ ability to come to the College and stay focused on their studies are what motivated the founders of the Heritage College Foundation and what continues to motivate its leadership today.
Whether through bursaries, emergency aid, professional equipment, fees related to internships, food vouchers, help with punctual rent and transportation expenses, the Foundation has over the years provided financial support and encouragement to persevering students in need.
During Heritage College Foundation’s Tenth Anniversary year, from April 2023 to April 2024, we’ve adopted the theme of the Power of Ten. Plans to increase our donor and volunteer bases, as well as overall giving to the Foundation for the benefit of Heritage College students are underway. We hope to achieve these objectives in part through events starting in the Fall like a golf tournament, introduction of the Heritage College community to Tailgating and a Pickleball competition, as well as a Gala planned for December 2023. We look forward to large numbers of supporters of the College and the Foundation, as well as students, faculty and staff to join us.
We’ve targeted and invited new and ongoing investments by the community to reach our goals in specific areas that will support the resilience and perseverance of students. To that end, we’ve provided support to 100 students continuing their studies at the College in 2023-2024 with $1000 bursaries. We’re cultivating new partnerships and expanding on existing ones to try to help defray housing costs for students who may be at risk of dropping out because of the lack of affordable housing. And the Foundation made a $25,000 contribution to fund food security efforts and donated a freezer to support the College’s plans to create a food security hub.
All in all, the Foundation’s activities during the 2022-23 school year laid the groundwork for student success in the next school year and beyond. Without the multiplied financial and volunteer support of generous government and corporate partners, individuals and local businesses, as well as the Heritage College community itself, the Heritage College Foundation could not dream of providing steadfast support to students who need encouragement to stay the course and finish well.
We need even more people to commit to making a life-affirming difference in the educational journey of students. Please consider how you can start making or make even more of an investment through the Heritage College Foundation, so that we can reach our goal of increasing by a Power of Ten the positive impact on Heritage College students.
I’m a cheerful giver. Are you?
I especially enjoy giving when I know the gift is something the person receiving it really wants or needs. Ten years ago this month, a group of people saw the significant needs of Heritage College students and were inspired to give. They established the CÉGEP Heritage College Foundation so that their gifts could be combined with others from the community and their impact could be multiplied. At that time, Caryl Green, the first person to Chair the Heritage College Foundation, noted that the founders and the community were moved to help students who were going into debt to pay for basic needs.
Since that time, the Foundation has supported students by way of contributions to emergency financial assistance that pays for rent, food, transportation, school fees, computers and more. Some supporters of the Foundation have dedicated their giving to students in particular programs like nursing and STEM, and others have focused on encouraging students in Early Childhood Care and Education and in the Arts, in memory of loved ones who taught at or attended the College.
The early organizers had a vision of engaging the broader community both inside and outside of the College. Since 2 April 2013, Heritage College faculty and staff have given generously of their time as members of the Foundation Board of Directors and of Committees, as well as by giving through regular salary deductions and special fundraising campaigns.
In addition, federal, provincial and municipal governments and political representatives have given support to the College through the Heritage Foundation over the last decade. Local businesses, large and small, have seen the value of investing in the future of young people through generous donations to the Foundation that make a difference, as well.
As we celebrate the accomplishments of the last decade and lay the groundwork for the next decade, the Foundation is committed to partnering with the College and even more members of the community to contribute to the security and wellness of Heritage College students. Students themselves have identified ongoing needs for food and housing, transportation and specific wellness initiatives. In response to the need for food security so far this school year, the Foundation has contributed thousands of dollars to fill holiday baskets of food, has donated a large capacity freezer, and is looking to buy a refrigerator, as well as help to fill it on an ongoing basis. Housing security is next on the list of big items to tackle this year, so stay tuned for details about how you can contribute to those projects.
The organizing theme of this 10th year anniversary celebration is “The Power of 10.” Ten years of giving and investing deserves a shout out, especially to those who originally grasped and cast the vision of a Foundation to support CÉGEP Heritage College and the students who are pursuing their academic and vocational goals here. Join us at the College on Saturday, April 29th as we honor those visionaries at our Founders Reunion. Go to our EVENTS page and check out the Press Release for more information about the celebration.
This calendar year, our ambition is to multiply by 10 times the current individual donors, as well as increase to ten the number of governmental donors and businesses who decide to invest. We hope to raise another $10, 000+ in emergency financial assistance; to support at least 100 students with resilience & perseverance bursaries and practical supplies (e.g., soldering kits, stethoscopes, etc.); and to subsidize housing assistance for five or more Indigenous students, which would represent 10% of their number attending Heritage College.
We are going to need your help to develop and realize these objectives. Please consider participating in one or more of the celebratory fundraising events planned for this year and becoming a regular donor to the Foundation. We also will need volunteers to accomplish all our plans, so be in touch with the Foundation office if you have time and talent to offer.
Join the CÉGEP Heritage College Foundation Board of Directors in giving cheerfully and generously in 2023 to encourage Heritage College students to achieve their full potential now and over the next ten years!
The new Foundation Board recently elected in August of 2022 is gathering strength and making ambitious plans to grow its relationships and its impact, all to the benefit of Heritage College and its marvelous students!
Everything of lasting positive value that the Foundation accomplishes is made possible by the generous donations, both of material and time, made by parents, students, alumni, the College and its staff, local organizations, businesses, and the community at large in the National Capital Region and the Outaouais. We are grateful for all of you.
As the year 2022 comes to a close, the disciplines of resilience and perseverance have demonstrated their power to help both individuals and institutions find their equilibrium and keep moving forward. Indeed, the Foundation itself has had to be resilient and to persevere in its mission to support students as the Covid 19 pandemic and various challenges constrained its development, fundraising and community outreach activities.
CÉGEP Heritage College Foundation aims to provide awards and bursaries to students who exemplify resilience and perseverance as they confront obstacles and overcome barriers along the path to reaching their academic and career goals. Once again, this past Spring over fifty students benefitted from the generosity of the Foundation’s donors through bursaries and awards. We hope to increase that number in 2023!
Encouragement to pursue their studies or chosen career path can come in the form of financial assistance, but also through affirmation of a student’s inherent worth and contributions to the College community. Whether through student government participation or by academic and sports achievement or by just staying the course, many Heritage College students have continued their CÉGEP journey and finished well. There are others, however, who need more support and encouragement to pick up their studies and pursue their dreams again. We are working to find ways to help them do that.
Stay tuned in the New Year as we reveal exciting plans to celebrate the CÉGEP Heritage College Foundation’s 10-year anniversary. We will also be looking for talented, energetic Volunteers who match our passion for uplifting and empowering students.
Let’s keep building on our heritage--together!
