KAMLOOPS – At its annual kick-off breakfast this morning, the TRU Foundation raised $71,065, with 70 per cent of the total coming from a single donor.
Ken Lepin earmarked his $50,000 endowment for TRU trades apprenticeship programs, and in addition to his endowment, the local developer made a planned giving bequest that will add to this endowment for further support to trades students in perpetuity.
Lepin’s history as a local developer working with trades people inspired him to elevate the opportunity trades trained students could have, and with this award, aims to support excellent students in the trades. His award will go to students in five entry-level trades who demonstrate excellence in many trades areas, including such criteria as craftsmanship, project design and academic achievement. He hopes that by providing a $1000 prize for a top student annually, his fund will make an impact on students and inspire them to achieve their greatest potential in a variety of their educational and training components.
Mr. Lepin has also been invited to sit on one of the division’s program advisory committees by Ralph Finch, TRU’s Dean of the School of Trades and Technology.
“Mr. Lepin’s life experiences and his success motivated him to choose the TRU Foundation as a place to give back to our community,” explained Kathleen Biagioni, Foundation Executive Director. “Working with donors like Mr. Lepin, who have a vision of the difference that they can make in students’ lives, is a growing opportunity for us at TRU.We are grateful for this generous level of commitment from Ken Lepin today.”
TRU president and vice-chancellor Roger Barnsley echoed Biagioni’s remarks, saying, “TRU owes its existence to strong community support. We welcome the investment that Mr. Lepin has made in our university and in our students.”
Biagioni was also pleased to see that about a third of the people attending the breakfast took pledge forms with them. Any pledges made within the next two weeks will still be matched to the Foundation’s unrestricted fund, she said.
The breakfast, sponsored by Howard Bingham Hill Architects, also featured a talk by Kim Rathwell-Austin, 2006 TRU Bachelor of Social Work degree graduate, 2003 Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medalist, and former Foundation student award recipient, who said, “As a recipient of bursaries and scholarships I give thanks to you. Someone believed in me enough to give me money and that in turn made me accountable to myself, to the faculty, to the larger community of TRU, to the donor and to my fellow students. I don’t know how many of you have had to live off of a student loan, but as a single mother of two I can tell you that for me , it meant choices between necessities such as luncheon meat and printer ink.Receiving funding from donors such as you made the choices a heck of a lot easier, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Paul Wright, this year’s annual campaign chairman and master of ceremonies, noted in his opening remarks,
“From personal experience I can tell you what a tremendous feeling it is to hand out an award to a student at the annual awards ceremony. Last year we were able to provide awards to over 1300 students who applied for financial aid through money provided by the TRU Board of Governors and TRU Foundation donors.Unfortunately, another 500 students who applied for aid did not get any assistance because there was a shortage of funds available. Our goal is to close the gap on this shortage.”
Last year the TRU Foundation awarded over $1 million in scholarships and bursaries to TRU students. Its endowment funds now total almost $7 million, and last year its planned giving program was advised of $1.8 million in expectancies from donors leaving a legacy through a gift to TRU in their will or through a life insurance policy.
For more information, please call:
Kathleen Biagioni at 828-5266
Ken Lepin at 828-1336
