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!
Board members Letitia Taylor (centre-left), Linton Garner (second row-right), Fatemeh Anvari (centre-right) and Brian Rock (far-right) with film director Guy Rex Rodgers (far-left) at the 10th anniversary of the Cégep Heritage College Foundation, April 29. (GN)
Photo Credit: Greg Newing
The Cégep Heritage College Foundation celebrated its 10th anniversary with an awards ceremony and documentary film screening at Heritage College on April 29. The foundation was formed in 2013 to provide financial assistance to Heritage College students in the Outaouais region. The Foundation helps students meet study related costs such as course materials, food, transportation and housing.
The event recognized individuals who were instrumental in establishing the foundation and who made a significant contribution to its work over the past decade, “10 years of existence is a great milestone. We wanted to reach back and thank people for their contributions to helping students achieve their aspirations,” said the foundation’s Executive Director Linton Garner, “Sometimes, at the start, it’s hard to see the impact, but over the past 10 years we have seen a lot of fruit,” he continued.
“The proof of the hard work and determination of the founders is that the Heritage College Foundation has endured and many students have benefitted from its collaboration with the community over the past 10 years,” said the Foundation’s Chairperson, Letitia Taylor. She noted that despite the foundation’s success, many students in the region still struggle with meeting basic costs, “30 – 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 and students living at a distance still need access to reliable, affordable transportation.”
Taylor said the Foundation aims to increase its funds for rent accommodations over the coming years given the increase in living costs. She explained that this calls for more partnerships and collaboration with other organizations in the community, “If we want to see a vibrant future in Quebec, we have to come around these students as a community to support and encourage them.”
This year, the foundation gave $10 000 to support students with emergency needs, helped create a space on campus where students can access food without cost, and plans to award 100 students with $1000 scholarships to help them cover study costs.
Michael Surur, a Heritage College student in social science and member of the Heritage Hurricanes basketball team shared some of his reflections on the event, “The Foundation is a great organization and I feel like being here today gave me more insight into its work. The contribution today was major, I really appreciate that. We’re all grateful, not just me but all the students and my teammates.”
Following the awards ceremony was a screening of a recent documentary on the history of English-speaking communities in Quebec “What We Choose to Remember” by filmmaker Guy Rex Rodgers. The event ended with a social Q&A session with the director along with a 10th anniversary cake and refreshments.
The Heritage College Foundation is calling for volunteers to fill a wide range of roles including new board members, community outreach, fundraising and event logistics. Those interested in volunteering can contact the foundation’s office at foundation.exd@cegep-heritage.qc.ca or call 819 778 2270 ext. 2127.
April 13, 2023
Good afternoon Heritage College students, staff, Board of Governors, and members of the Heritage Foundation,
I am writing to thank our Heritage College Foundation for their donation of 25,000$ 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
Directeur général
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.
