Belleville, Ontario, June 1, 2012 – At the Annual Meeting of the Loyalist College Foundation held today, Foundation Chair Beverley Townsend and Vice Chair Bernie Ouellet were re-elected for the upcoming year. Donna Gowthorpe, Mark Rollins, and John Sherratt will continue on the Board for another three years, joining other community directors.
Overall, $667,189 was added to the Foundation Endowment Fund, bringing the total to $7,938,419 as of March 31, 2012. During the year, 248 awards, with a total value of $134,415 were presented at various awards ceremonies. In addition, 117 students received expendable awards totaling $46,285 through the Awards office.
A total of $283,319 from donations and golf tournament revenue was directed to the endowment. This was augmented by $221,158 from the Ontario Trust for Student Support (OTSS) Program. Although the OTSS Program came to a close on March 31, 2012, the support of the provincial government through this program over the past several years has been invaluable in building the endowment to benefit Loyalist students.
In addition to these recent donations, funds were received through the sale of property in Harcourt, which had been donated to the College in 1995, by Mr. Chester Schwandt. At that time, Mr. Schwandt directed that in the event of the property being sold in the future, the proceeds would go to “the creation of bursaries and scholarships for students at Loyalist College.” As a result of the property sale, $162,712 was transferred to the Chester Schwandt endowment fund, to provide financial assistance for students from the Bancroft area.
“We would like to express our sincere thanks to Loyalist College donors and friends for their ongoing support,” said Loyalist College President Maureen Piercy. “With this increase in Endowment funds, we will be able to support many more students in need of financial assistance. We are committed to helping provide access to post-secondary education, to open doors to rewarding careers. ”
Foundation Chair Beverley Townsend advised the members that local businessman Jim Marker has left a generous bequest of $100,000 to the Loyalist College Foundation. The purpose is yet to be determined, and will be confirmed at a later date.
The Foundation is looking forward to the launch of the Campaign for Loyalist College on June 5, 2012 in support of the Sustainable Skills, Technology and Life Sciences Centre and student financial assistance. Members of the community are invited to attend the event, which will take place at 10:30 a.m. in the Automotive Shop, in the Skills Centre. Tours of the Skills Centre will be available.
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Contact: Kerry Lorimer, Media Relations Specialist, Loyalist College, klorimer@loyalistc.on.ca, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2536