From equipment to financial aid to work-integrated learning opportunities to training materials, donors make a difference in the lives of Lethbridge College students every day.
The college is celebrating the generosity of its donors this month, highlighting the many ways they directly affect the lives of students. While many recent initiatives were launched and supported in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the generosity of the southern Alberta community was apparent well before the pandemic and continues to support the day-to-day lives of students.
“Whether it is a new building, a new program, a new student-led initiative or a new service for students, there has always been a donor or community partner there to lend a hand, turning dreams and ideas into realities that serve this community,” says Dr. Paula Burns, Lethbridge College President and CEO. “It is part of what makes southern Alberta so special. Lethbridge College is proud to be part of this generous community that has always been there to support us when we needed it.”
In 2020-21, the college dispersed more than $650,000 in student awards to more than 460 students, helping to relieve the financial challenge of attaining a post-secondary education. One of those students was Laura Taylor. The stay-at-home mother of six was worried about how the cost of returning to school would affect her, her husband and her children, but receiving a student award helped her to pursue her dream.
“When I got the letter letting me know of my student award, I teared up,” says Taylor, a Bachelor of Nursing student. “When every penny counts, scholarships make all the difference. I am so grateful for the generosity, kindness and willingness of donors to help people like me who are a little older and who are trying to get another chance at school to improve their own lives and the lives of their families.”
In addition to providing financial support, the college was also able to help ensure students were connected by using donor funds to supply more than 100 students with gifts or loans of laptops, while 35 students received internet subsidies. Tangible donations, such as hard hats to Wind Turbine Technician students or industrial safety clothing for Powerline Technician students also help to reduce their program expenses and help prepare them to enter industry. And practicum experiences and work-integrated learning opportunities give students the hands-on training they need to be ready to contribute to their employers. All of these initiatives take the investment of donors, alumni, sponsors and industry partners.
“All of these partners show how gifts of money, ideas and imagination can be meaningful investments that ensure students are prepared for whatever their futures hold,” says Oliver Twizell, Director of Development and Alumni Engagement. “While 2020 was a challenging year in many ways, our donors and community partners have stepped up to support the delivery of education that benefits students as well as the industries they will ultimately be employed by.”
To learn more about donor-related projects at Lethbridge College, or to get involved, visit lethpolytech.ca/give or read the college’s Ready to Rise: A celebration of giving publication.
Learn more about Laura's story: