Friends of UPEI Calgary raise $1 million to support Alberta students attending UPEI
In 1997 a group of UPEI alumni and other Prince Edward Islanders in Calgary, Alberta, was asked to host a dinner to raise a “little money” for UPEI. Since then, that group, known as the Friends of UPEI Calgary, has raised $1 million and distributed $427,000 in scholarships to a total of 228 Alberta students attending UPEI to date.
Calgary lawyer Bill LeClair, founder and chair of the Friends of UPEI Calgary, is one of the UPEI alumni who organized the first dinner, which took place in 1998 and raised more than $25,000. The dinner is now an annual event, held on the first Saturday of November, which includes a silent auction and entertainment from Prince Edward Island.
The funds, which are managed by The Calgary Foundation, are used to provide scholarships for students from Alberta who want to attend UPEI. On average, 20 students from Alberta yearly receive a total of nearly $40,000 in scholarships from funds raised by the group.
One of those students is Jenn Whittingham, of Calgary, who will graduate in May 2016 with her Bachelor of Science in nursing. She says that the support she received from the Friends of UPEI Calgary has been instrumental in her journey toward her nursing degree.
“This scholarship has meant the difference between having to work during the school year and choosing to work when I have time, but it has been much more than that,” says Whittingham. “Every year they fund a dinner in Charlottetown for students from Alberta so that we can meet, make some new friends and get to know the hard-working people behind the scholarships. It has given me a different perspective and allowed me to understand that every dollar we receive is a dollar that someone has graciously fundraised for or donated—private citizens who have a connection to UPEI and want to give back. Words cannot express how thankful I am for the support I have received.”
LeClair is proud of the sustained support that the Friends of UPEI Calgary has provided to Alberta students attending UPEI since that first dinner in 1998.
“It has been a wonderful experience for all of us,” says LeClair. “There are many stories that could be told, but suffice to say, we are very pleased to have been part of the journey for so many students.”
