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In 2006, thanks to generous donations from friends and relatives of Sarah McSeveney; the Whistler Children’s Centre (WCC); families served by the Centre; and the community at large, the Sarah McSeveney Fund was created in memory of former Whistler Children’s Centre Teacher, Sarah McSeveney, a former Squamish resident who died suddenly in a tragic car crash in October 2005 at the age of 31.
Sarah touched the lives of many families in the four years that she worked with the WCC and in particular, the three years as Head Teacher in the Daisies Infant Program. Sarah was a lifelong learner, fervent advocate for high quality early childhood education and had a thirst for knowledge. A scholarship fund seemed to be an appropriate and lasting tribute to what Sarah represented in the center and the community.
The first grants from the Sarah McSeveney Scholarship Fund were announced on June 03, 2006. The scholarship is awarded annually to a graduating high school student in the Sea-to-Sky corridor who is entering a college or university program in Early Childhood Education. In the event that there are no high school graduates seeking the grant, the award may be made to an individual who has lived and worked in the Sea to Sky Corridor and who wishes to pursue further education in early childhood education and who plans to return to the Sea to Sky Corridor following their education. The Fund is held and managed by the Community Foundation of Whistler in perpetuity and when the fund reaches an adequate size, income from the fund is used to make annual grants to students pursuing post secondary education in early childhood education.
Applications for grants are received by the staff at the Secondary Schools in School District No. 48. The WCC has continued provide annual seed funds toward the grants with a portion of the proceeds from its annual Father Daughter dance at The Fairmont Chateau Whistler.
Founded in October, 1999, the Community Foundation of Whistler is a charitable organization that serves the Sea to Sky Corridor. It currently manages twenty-four different funds including three scholarship funds. To date the CFOW has received over $3.5 million dollars from individuals, businesses and other charities and directs investment earnings to projects that help improve the quality of community life in the Sea to Sky Corridor.
Our goal is for the contributions to the fund to exceed $25,000 in capital, so that the fund can be self-sustaining in its ability to make annual grants of $1000.00 based on the annual income earned. At present, the fund currently contains about $11,000 in capital. Donations to the scholarship fund may be made directly to the CFOW by contacting cfow@telus.net or www.whistlerfoundation.com. For convenience, cheques payable to the CFOW may by placed in either of the Whistler Children’s Centre drop boxes. Contact for the Whistler Children’s Centre Society: admin@whistlerchildren.com or 604-932-1119.
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