Community Support
![A poster that promotes the Glow Up event in Vernon on Oct. 21.](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2023-10/glowup.png?h=57024e64&itok=AhiHyYDj)
OC fundraiser to light way for new childcare centre
October 18, 2023
Dress up with your kids, enjoy a matinee, then parade downtown Vernon with glow up lanterns and a stilt walker. An upcoming event aims to cast a glow on children’s faces while also lighting a path for a new childcare centre at ʪƵ’s Vernon campus. The ʪƵ Foundation is hosting Glow UP: A Matinee, Masquerade and Lantern Light Up Saturday, Oct. 28. Participants can make their own lanterns at an upcoming workshop hosted by local artists at ʪƵ Saturday, Oct. 21 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.&nb...
Read more...![Student chefs prepare dinners for wildfire evacuees.](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2023-08/chefs_cooking_with_love.jpg?h=790be497&itok=AN6LEIcH)
OC student chefs supporting community
August 25, 2023
You can call it cooking with love. Students from the Okanagan Chef School at ʪƵ dropped plans this week for a final feast to celebrate the end of their program and jumped into supporting the local emergency response instead. Typically, students at the Okanagan Chef School host a community dinner at the end of their year and one was planned for this week. However, when the event had to be cancelled due to the area wildfires, the students decided to shift their focus to preparing meals for those engaged in the response ...
Read more...![Members of the OC community drop off food for wildfire workers.](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2023-08/connections_horizontal.jpg?h=485d8330&itok=G1sNmpDU)
OC community steps up to support wildfire efforts
August 24, 2023
The OC community has been busy this week, stepping up to support wildfire efforts in their communities and supporting friends, family and neighbours in many different ways. The cancellation of this week’s Connections event at ʪƵ, an event led by employees to kick off a new school year, meant some timely donations of lunches and snacks went out to people who are supporting the wildfire efforts in the Okanagan Valley. It was just one example of the many efforts the OC community has undertaken in their communities. Thank ...
Read more...![Dr. Sylvia Janet Russell](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2023-06/dr_sylvia_janet_russell.jpg?h=74c6825a&itok=5_7jVAOu)
$40,000 gift creates lasting tribute to former Okanagan University College Professor Dr. Sylvia Janet Russell
June 27, 2023
In her twenty-year tenure as a history professor at Okanagan University College (the predecessor to ʪƵ), Dr. Sylvia Janet Russell breathed life into bustling classrooms, transforming them into vibrant hubs of knowledge and inspiration. Now in a fitting tribute to her legacy, an anonymous $40,000 gift will establish a bursary fund in her honour. The Dr. Sylvia Janet Russell Memorial Fund will provide bursaries to students who have fulfilled the graduation requirements for ʪƵ’s Associate of Arts diploma - with a p...
Read more...![Rob Phare, Sunflower Childcare Centre Campaign Committee Member; Sam Jackson, People and Culture Lead, Maven Lane; Helen Jackman, Executive Director, ʪƵ Foundation; Lloyd Davies, Leadership Donor, Sunflower Childcare Centre Campaign - pictured with children from Maven Lane](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2023-05/52892458615_4b7da5bb50_o_1.jpg?h=790be497&itok=i8dsjFiU)
Plant a Seed Day fundraiser sprouts an impressive $66,000 in gifts for the new Sunflower Childcare Centre on OC's Vernon Campus
May 17, 2023
ʪƵ Foundation is thrilled to announce the success of Plant a Seed Day, a fun-filled, family-friendly fundraiser that, thanks to generous community support, raised $66,000 for the Sunflower Childcare Centre. The funds will be put towards equipment, furnishings, supplies, and a creative outdoor space where kids can learn and play. Event guests had the opportunity to experience child-led yoga, sunflower-themed art classes, country line dancing, and a delicious lemonade crawl – all made possible thanks to generous sponsors: Kal T...
Read more...![Former OC instructoor Lloyd Davies and his wife Janet Armstrong.](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2023-04/lloyd_and_janet_in_garden.jpg?h=f871ce7d&itok=npVWJ-PB)
Sowing the seeds for a better future for student parents in Vernon
April 28, 2023
College Foundation hosts fundraiser for new Sunflower Childcare Centre Sunflowers blooming, the promise of new beginnings, and brighter futures for student parents in Vernon will be the focus of ʪƵ Foundation’s upcoming Plant a Seed Day Fundraiser. The fun-filled event will take place on May 10, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and will support the new, affordable, 44-seat on-campus Sunflower Childcare Centre, operated by local, non-profit childcare provider Maven Lane. Guests will be invited to “tap into their inner child”...
Read more...![Emil Anderson group photo](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2023-04/emil_anderson_cheque_presentation_web.jpg?h=252f27fa&itok=nS6ELjx2)
Bridging the way to success: Emil Anderson Construction gives $75,000 to modernize ʪƵ’s Civil Engineering Technology Program
April 17, 2023
If you walk past ʪƵ’s Kelowna campus on a weekday afternoon, you’re sure to see Civil Engineering Technology students spread out across the grounds, gathering environmental data using surveying equipment. This skill is essential to their education and will one day help them shape our built environments. Thanks to a generous $75,000 gift from Emil Anderson Construction, students will have increased access to state-of-the-art surveying equipment to train on by fall of 2023. “We are proud to support ʪƵ’s Civil Engi...
Read more...![Volunteer to Tutor](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2023-04/volunteer_to_tutor_web.jpg?h=252f27fa&itok=2RrN0vNA)
Inspire at OC Revelstoke: Volunteer to Tutor
April 4, 2023
One of the ongoing programs the Revelstoke Centre of ʪƵ is proud to continuously offer is the Volunteer Literacy Tutoring program. Melissa Jameson, a resident of Revelstoke since 2007 whom some may recognize from her work at Community Connections, or more recently the civic affairs reporter for the Revelstoke Mountaineer, has been the volunteer coordinator for the program since October 2022. Jameson has been struggling to match several learners with tutors and wonders if there is a misconception about what the tutor position i...
Read more...![A young child plans ping pong toss with their parent.](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2023-03/52724173200_82cf085de6_6k.jpg?h=790be497&itok=02l-OK8j)
Ready, Set, Grow! ʪƵ Foundation kicks off its Sunflower Childcare Centre Campaign with an inspiring event at the Vernon Campus
March 15, 2023
Enthusiastic young volunteers led games and activities at the launch of ʪƵ Foundation’s $1.25 million campaign in support of a new on-campus childcare centre, planned to open in the fall of 2024. Held on Mar. 1 at OC’s Vernon campus, the event drew 65 guests and celebrated the kickoff of the Sunflower Childcare Centre fundraising campaign. Donor and former College instructor Lloyd Davies spoke about his family’s decision to contribute $500,000 to the cause. "Time and again, I would have students missing class, missing ...
Read more...![Photo of Spring Hawes with event details for Understanding Ableism event](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2023-01/ableism.jpg?h=252f27fa&itok=NgXLQnua)
Understanding Ableism: Join us for an Anti-Ableism presentation by Spring Hawes at OC Kelowna on Jan. 19
January 13, 2023
A group of ʪƵ students and employees are further advancing conversation and action around anti-ableism and accessibility at OC this winter through an upcoming talk and series of follow-up events. ʪƵ Kelowna’s Accessibility Alliance invites the OC community to attend an anti-ableism presentation by entrepreneur and advocate Spring Hawes on January 19 from noon -2:30 p.m. in the Centre for Learning Atrium (E Building). In her presentation Hawes will il...
Read more...![Prospera donation to OC](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2022-11/prospera_group_web.jpg?h=252f27fa&itok=f2NX2Fc9)
Prospera gives big in support of Women in Trades at ʪƵ
November 28, 2022
More women will get a chance to lace up their work boots and take the first step in a career in trades, thanks to a recent $79,660 gift from Prospera to a program at ʪƵ that has already trained over 1,300 women since it was founded. The Women in Trades Training program was created to remove barriers for women interested in pursuing trades education and help meet the community’s surging need for skilled trades professionals. “These bursaries and added equipment provide opportunities for women to pursue trades tr...
Read more...![Rick and Yasmin Thorpe presenting the Thorpe and Friends Scholarship to Wylie Rowan and Mattias Van Bergeyk](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2022-10/2022_-_thorpe_and_friends_scholarship_web.jpeg?h=59f96854&itok=Qh5B20vQ)
Thorpe and Friends Scholarship recognizes two ʪƵ students
October 26, 2022
Local students say the generosity of two prominent Penticton philanthropists is helping them take the next steps in their education. Since 2006, former MLA Rick Thorpe and his wife Yasmin John-Thorpe, along with their friends, have given more than $160,000 in scholarships to students in need at ʪƵ’s Penticton Campus. Two of this year’s recipients, Wylie Rowan and Mattias Van Bergeyk, received $2,500 to put toward their education. Both students are Summerland Secondary School grads in their first year of studies at Oka...
Read more...![Sisters Tiffany Ayalik and Inuksuk Mackay come together to create the Inuit-style throat-singing duo PIQSIQ.](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2022-10/piqsiq-web.jpg?h=252f27fa&itok=Q7AkaoI9)
Throat-singing duo PIQSIQ to perform at OC's Penticton campus
October 18, 2022
ʪƵ joins forces with Route97 Culture to present fast-rising throat singing duo – PIQSIQ in Penticton Live music will return to ʪƵ's Penticton campus this November 4, 2022, for students and music fans alike. In collaboration with the Route97 Culture Road Trip series, ʪƵ will co-present the debut of PIQSIQ in the region, who will perform a special concert inside the LEED Platinum-certified building known as the Centre of Excellence in Room 113. You can buy tickets for the show here. With a style per...
Read more...![Kalamalka Garden TD gift](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2022-10/kalamalka_garden_td_web.jpg?h=252f27fa&itok=SFOfBh2R)
TD gives $85,000 to help kids and newcomers access ʪƵ’s Indigenous Garden
October 18, 2022
Hawthorn, wolf willow, and sage are among the traditional plants growing in the garden on the hillside at ʪƵ’s Vernon campus, which this year was visited by more than 250 local school children, thanks to generous support from TD Bank Group. TD’s gift, made earlier in 2022, is funding tours of the K'nmaĺka Senqâĺten - Kalamalka Indigenous garden for children and newcomers to Canada. The garden is located on ʪƵ’s Vernon campus. ʪƵ has already received a portion of the funding; the remainder will be...
Read more...![Text of "Kelowna votes" overtop of a lakeview image of the city](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2022-09/Kelowna-votes-600x400.jpg?h=252f27fa&itok=XO4kwQPG)
Kelowna mayoral candidates invited to public debate hosted by ʪƵ, UBC Okanagan
September 20, 2022
Mayoral candidates in Kelowna will speak specifically to issues that matter to university and college students at an on-campus debate at the end of September. ʪƵ and UBC Okanagan have teamed up to host the event, which will be moderated by CBC Radio host Sarah Penton at OC’s lecture theatre on K.L.O. Road. “We are thrilled to be welcoming the candidates, students and the community onto our campus, to hear from the individuals running to be the next mayor of Kelowna,” says Dr. Neil Fassina, president, ʪƵ. “Pos...
Read more...![Erum Ahmad](/sites/default/files/styles/story_landscape/public/2022-06/erum_ahmadweb.jpg?h=e29398d0&itok=Jqb2q2mQ)
OC alumna gives back with bursary for high school grads
June 22, 2022
ʪƵ alumna Erum Ahmad has been spending her time teaching Vernon high school students how to be smart with their money. Now, she is giving one of those students a chance to put their learnings into action by creating a bursary to fund the next steps of their educational journey. Erum, who graduated from ʪƵ in 2021, found a passion in sharing financial literacy with high school students after experiencing a lack of financial training herself. “When I was in grade 10, I realized there were no classes to help me ...
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