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Good afternoon! Let me add my welcome to that of Mr. Garner. We are indeed grateful for your presence and participation today.
On April 2nd 2013, the Foundation was incorporated and the dream of supporting Heritage College students in need took its first breath.
In conversation with the first Foundation Chairperson, Caryl Green, whose three sons graduated from Heritage, I learned that the first years were challenging ones, but productive. The proof of the hard work and determination of the Founders is that Heritage College Foundation has endured, and many students have benefited from its collaboration with the community over the years.
The original vision and purpose, according to Caryl, was for the Heritage Foundation to support students needing financial assistance for Housing, for Transportation, and/or for Food so they could focus on their studies. With this help, these committed community members reasoned that students could persevere in their studies and acquire the necessary knowledge and tools to graduate and move onto further studies or enter the job market. A simple but powerful premise that has proven its worth.
These are still the pressing needs among the student body here at Heritage. A recent Wellness Survey involving students showed that between 30 and 50% of students attending the College today are struggling with food insecurity; the cost of rental accommodation in the city can be an obstacle to ambitious and talented students being able to attend the College; and students living at a distance still need access to reliable, affordable transportation.
There is still so much to do and to build and the Foundation is looking forward to partnering with the College, governments, individual and corporate volunteers and donors for another 10 years at least! The theme of our activities in this 10th Anniversary year is the Power of 10. This school year, the Foundation has given $10,000 to support students with punctual emergency needs. We have donated a freezer and funds for a refrigerator to support creation of a space where students can access food without cost so that in the face of rising prices they are not having to choose between eating and which other bills to pay. Our ambition is to award as many as 100 students with $1000 scholarships to help them with registration fees, practical supplies for work placements, transportation costs, and so forth.
I have proposed to our Board of Directors, and we are now looking for partners to subsidize housing costs for Heritage students trying to make lodging here in the city affordable. To reach all these goals, the Foundation will need to reinforce current partnerships and reach out to forge new ones. In addition to increasing financial investments, we need volunteers to accomplish all that we continue to dream to be able to do in support of students’ academic and vocational ambitions for their future.
If you can contribute, please be in touch with the Foundation office, check out our web and Facebook pages to follow what we’re doing and get involved with what the Foundation is accomplishing. Together with you, the Heritage College Foundation is continuing to invest in our heritage.
Thank you and enjoy the program!
Gatineau, Quebec, March 27, 2023 - The CÉGEP Heritage College Foundation is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year! We are kicking off our yearlong celebration of events with a FOUNDER’S REUNION, Saturday, April 29th at 1 pm at Heritage College. Alumni, present and former faculty, administrators, and community supporters are all invited to a screening of the film “What We Choose to Remember” about the English-speaking community in Quebec, with Guy Rex Rodgers, the film’s Director, followed by a Q&A and reception. We are celebrating those who began the Foundation with the goal of providing financial assistance to support student success.
Although the Foundation is only ten years old, Heritage College itself began in 1988 some 35 years ago. Tireless work by many community members convinced the government to create the first and only English language post-secondary educational institution in Western Quebec. The Foundation since its inception has raised funds through government grants, individual, and corporate donations to help students to continue their educational path towards university or job market in their chosen fields of study.
The Foundation works with Heritage College to provide financial support in emergency situations like the flooding and the tornado that struck the region in recent years which greatly impeded student access to their studies. As well, support was provided for school supplies and books that were ruined by those disasters. During the pandemic, we helped supply computers so students could continue to access the online courses Heritage College created to assure students were minimally affected by the lack of access to the college campus.
We plan to reach out to the community and alumni throughout this 10th Anniversary year to raise funds, awareness and invite their participation in the excellent work the Heritage College Foundation has done in supporting student success, perseverance and resilience. Throughout this year’s celebrations, we look forward to sharing good memories and helping our present and future students realize their educational aspirations and participate in extracurricular activities that are part of a well-rounded college experience.
Together, we are investing in our heritage!
If you are an alumna/us of Heritage College or know one, please reach out to the Foundation office. We hope to be in touch with former students who have pictures or memorabilia of the College’s history and past Foundation events. For more information or to register as alumni please contact: foundation.exd@cegep-heritage.qc.ca
April 13, 2023
Good afternoon Heritage College students, staff, Board of Governors, and members of the Heritage Foundation,
I am writing to thank our Heritage College Foundation for their donation of 25,000$ to Heritage College’s Student Services Department. It was my pleasure to accept, on behalf of our students, this generous donation from Letitia Taylor, the Chairperson of the Heritage College Foundation.
Data from our most recent Wellness Surveys shows that more than half of our students are concerned about Food Security and the availability of affordable/accessible nutrition. We have partnered with the Heritage Foundation to address this fundamental need and this donation is designed to go directly to support upcoming Food Security programs at Heritage College.
Thank you to our Heritage College Foundation and to everyone who is working to create sustainable Food Security programming at Heritage.
Terry Kharyati
Director General
The week of December 19, 2022 in collaboration with Student Services, the Foundation supported the project of providing Holiday Baskets to students in need and their families. Donations of non-perishable items were contributed by Heritage personnel during the month of December.
The Heritage Foundation hosted a holiday soiree in the lovely British Hotel with CÉGEP Heritage College personnel, community members, individual and corporate donors, as well as government representatives invited as honored guests. The newly elected Foundation Board of Directors (August 2022) was introduced and plans for supporting Heritage students in 2023 were shared with invitees.
In October 2022, the Heritage College Foundation hosted a Cast Party for the Aylmer Community Theater Company. As the Foundation's first community outreach event in some time, the initiative was a great hit with theater producers Rick and Peggy Henderson, as well as the cast. The Foundation helped celebrate the ACT Company's Barefoot in the Park debut at CÉGEP Heritage College. Everyone is looking forward to an encore performance of theater, collaboration, and fun in the coming years.
Actors Bradley McDermid and Virginia Larose play newlyweds Paul and Corie Bratter in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park.
The ACT Company's Barefoot in the Park cast takes a final bow after a sparkling performance at CÉGEP Heritage College Auditorium.
