Donors make a difference at Laurier
Thank you note from Zahra
President's Message
Laurier donors are critical collaborators in inspiring lives of leadership and purpose within our university community.
When I walk through our campuses, everywhere I look I am reminded of all of our supporters who passionately believe in Laurier’s mission. I am grateful and honoured that our donors have confidence in our vision and support Laurier.
Together, we are building the future we want and the future our communities need. As president of Laurier, I am deeply committed to this vision and I thank you for joining me in laying the foundation for generations to come.
We are certainly building a bright future together. Thank you.
Deb MacLatchy, PhD
President and Vice-Chancellor
Wilfrid Laurier University
Philanthropy in Action
THE LATEST DONOR IMPACT NEWS
"Throughout the year, your generous gift motivates me to press through fatigue and distraction in order to complete my academic tasks, whether it be starting on an assignment earlier or studying a few hours longer," said Joseph to Peter. "Thank you for providing this scholarship so that student athletes like myself, can be encouraged to excel academically while playing the sport we love."
– Joseph Fo, 2018 Recipient, Peter C. Ansley Basketball Award
Joseph also shared his story at the Celebrating Philanthropy event, as the current recipient of the Peter C. Ansley Basketball Award. This award supports student athletes on the men's varsity basketball team.
See what the Laurier Golden Hawks have been up to during the past year with their Year in Review Video.
Left to right: Peter Ansley (Donor & 2018 Laurier Philanthropy Award Recipient), Joseph Fo, and Peter Baxter (Director of Athletics)
"Over the past three years, I have been fortunate enough to receive a number of scholarships from donors. These scholarships have allowed me to not only maintain focus on my studies and research, but to also contribute to the community by being involved in programs such as working in local hospitals, performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and working as an administrative assistant and performer in Laurier’s own QuartetFest. I look forward to successfully completing my degree in the coming academic year and continuing my work in medicine and music."
– Yuchen Dai, 2018 Recipient, Dorothy V. and Abram Wiebe Scholarship and the Ross and Doris Dixon Music Scholarship
Yuchen is a Laurier student who is pursuing a dual degree in biology and violin performance and has received several donor-funded scholarships. On May 31st, he shared with guests at the Celebrating Philanthropy event how donor support has helped his success. He performed theGavotte en Rondeau from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita No.3 in E major as a tribute in thanks to all donors. Press the play button on the image above to hear an excerpt.
The protection of our natural resources are essential for our economic growth and the sustainability of our environment. In particular water, which has been recognized as Canada’s most important natural resource, has a direct impact on nearly 60 per cent of our country’s GDP and its management is essential to support our natural ecosystems.
Through a transformational $2 million gift, The Jarislowsky Foundation is enabling the creation of a prestigious endowed Chair at Laurier. The Jarislowsky Chair in Sustainable Water Futures will be filled by a renowned researcher and academic with globally relevant expertise in critical sustainability issues. The Jarislowsky Chair will spark collaborations to find meaningful solutions supporting sustainability resource management and adaptation to climate change. Through the Chair, Laurier students and researchers will further grow the role that we play in supporting new innovations and leadership in the management of our precious environmental systems. This work will influence Canada’s agriculture, manufacturing, energy, tourism and other sectors. Our North will also be a point of focus, as it’s warming up four to five times the global average.
The research will further help to shape government policy and help Canada stay resilient at a time when natural resources are threatened by unprecedented change. For Laurier, The Jarislowsky Chair in Sustainable Water Futures is an opportunity to provide global leadership around increasingly at-risk natural resources.
Micháel Kelly (right), Dean of the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics and Neal Kerr, president of CI Financial, with Laurier business alumni at the CI Financial gift announcement. Experiential learning is an increasingly critical element of a university education. This year, CI Financial supported the Building Canada's Best Business School campaign with a gift of $500,000 to fund the construction and operation of the CI Financial Finance Lab in Lazaridis Hall, providing Laurier students with hands-on experience in securities analysis.
"This critical gift advances our university’s ability to provide premiere education in finance and make important contributions to its field of research. With this support, we will continue to attract and retain the top finance students and faculty in the country.”
– Dr. Micheál J. Kelly, Dean, Lazaridis School of Business & Economics.
"Your support of wellness programs provides students like me with the tools and coping mechanisms needed to thrive. As a donor, your contribution helps to grow our programs and support more students. Thank you."
– Melissa Paré, HBSc Health Science
Post-secondary students can experience a range of mental health challenges during their time at university. Laurier donors are supporting critical mental health programs and services to help students get the most from their university experience.
With donor support, the Student Wellness Centres on the Brantford and Waterloo campuses provide comprehensive physical, emotional and mental health services to our students. This support helps students stay healthy and thrive, in academics and beyond the classroom.
Check out this article in The Cord about the I Move my Mood program that Melissa helps coordinate on Laurier's Waterloo campus.
Through our Hawkstarter crowdfunding platform, members of the broader Laurier community including staff, students and alumni can support specific projects. Since Hawkstarter launched, donors have made it possible for research projects, student initiatives (including graduating class gifts), Golden Hawks teams (through Adopt-a-Hawk– where alumni, family and friends support our student-athletes), and unique campus groups to thrive. Hawkstarter has also served as a platform for memorial giving to Laurier. On the project listings, you can see the powerful impact families and friends are having in honour of their loved ones.
One example of a current Hawkstarter project is the Laurier Hawk Honey project (left) which is raising funds to help bees flourish on the Waterloo campus and help educate the community about the role that bees play in our environment. Talk about a golden opportunity!
In March, Manulife announced a donation of $300,000 to expand Laurier’s Jumpstart to Higher Education program to Brantford as well as to more schools in Waterloo Region. The funding from Manulife will extend support of this innovative program to more Grade 7 and 8 students from at-risk communities, equipping them with resources to make big decisions about post-secondary education when the time comes.
“A post-secondary education can be the foundation of future financial stability for individuals and their families. Having control over one’s financial future sets the stage for success in many other areas of life. Programs like Jumpstart to Higher Education are a great way for Manulife to underscore this important message and help put young Canadians on the right track.”
– Michael Doughty, President and CEO. Manulife Canada
Additionally, there is a research component to the program through the Poverty Reduction Research Group, part of the Centre for Community, Research, Learning and Action at Laurier, to measure the long-term impact of this program with the goal of eventually incorporating it into the Ontario junior high curriculum.
When a project is really promising, many partners want to support it. Such is the case with the C3 Innovation Labs at Laurier, which have received funding from individual donors, corporations, and municipal governments. The term C3 refers to the three C's of Laurier campus, the tri-cities (Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge) and our local communities. Donor-supported projects within the C3 Innovation Labs include:
Capstone Urban Sustainability Project (CUSP) combines coursework with real-life research situations and brings student groups together with the City of Cambridge to resolve an aspect of urban planning and development with tangible impact.
The CityStudio initiative, including the SE330: Social Innovation in the City course, which brings together municipal professionals and Laurier students to design a solution to a local challenge.
An immersive social entrepreneurship course, SE400, where students become the entrepreneurs, coached by experienced faculty to set up their own social enterprise – an enterprise that will generate social impact and potential future career opportunities.
By the Numbers
and so much more...