July 10, 2009
Contact: Melissa Beedle
604-504-7441, local 4141
Cell: 778-895-4896
melissa.beedle@ufv.ca
Indo-Canadian business community endows student award at UFV
Indo-Canadian community leaders have long been known to rally together in support of important community causes. Most recently, members of the Fraser Valley Indo-Canadian Business Association (FVICBA) joined together to support UFV students demonstrating leadership qualities by endowing the Indo-Canadian Pioneer Endowment Leadership Award with a gift of $12,500.
Thanks to the endowment, every year one deserving student will receive approximately $500 to support their post-secondary pursuits. The award will be given to a UFV student who has demonstrated excellence through leadership in a range of non-academic fields such as community service, student activities, and volunteerism.
“This is very exciting for our association. Having a legacy through an endowment that will last forever is truly a wonderful opportunity for us,” says FVICBA president Kelly Chahal.
The endowment came as a result of a challenge from Dr. Darryl Plecas, director of the Centre for Criminal Justice Research and RCMP Research Chair at UFV, whose department also donated $12,500.
“Once Darryl informed our association of the potential, our Vice President, Mr. Jatinder Sidhu, formed a sub-committee of volunteers, Nash and Rajinder Gill, who gathered $12,500 from Indo-Canadian pioneer families to match the funds provided by the Centre for Criminal Justice Research,” says Chahal.
“Our association continues to work with community partners to be inclusive and meet our shared goals of assisting our youth to better themselves through education,” says Jatinder Sidhu. “UFV has once again shown us that they are interested in community initiatives. Dr. Plecas has challenged us to raise further funds and will continue to assist us to create additional endowments to benefit youth from the Fraser Valley for years to come. Our association has members from various ethnic backgrounds and I encourage interested individuals to contact us and assist us in our initiatives.”
The first Indo-Canadian Pioneer Endowment Leadership Award will be presented at the association’s annual Achievement Awards & Scholarship event in June 2010.
“On behalf of UFV, we are so grateful to the Fraser Valley Indo-Canadian Business Association for showing their support of our university,” says UFV vice-president external Robert Buchan. “Their endowment couldn’t come at a better time as UFV endeavors to keep our university financially accessible to students and reward students’ leadership achievements.”
Buchan added that rewarding students for their leadership skills, in addition to their academic success, also benefits the community by encouraging students to contribute beyond the school.
If you are interested in supporting student success and would like to set up a scholarship/bursary of your own or contribute to an existing award, please contact UFV acting director of development Ryan Koch at 604-851-6326 or ryan.koch@ufv.ca.
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About the Fraser Valley Indo-Canadian Business Association
The Fraser Valley Indo-Canadian Business Association established during 1987 to engage and promote cultural diversity. An example of this is the annual Achievement Awards & Scholarship event, which provides $1000 scholarships to youth from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
