CHF BC
SCHOLARSHIPS
Since 2012, CHF BC has offered scholarships to an impressive range of students. Our program is based on a successful Scholarship Fund model developed by CHF Toronto.
Scholarship History | Aaron Webster | Eligibility | Scholarship Details | Applying | Scholarship Committee | Scholarship Donations
Supporting the
next generation
of cooperators.
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Scholarship History
We remember how excited we were to launch our CHF BC Scholarship Fund in 2012, based on the successful model pioneered by CHF Toronto.
Since then the Fund has supported the educational goals of co-op members, particularly young members who are actively engaged in making a positive contribution to their communities, awarding a total of 17 scholarships with a total $64,200 awarded. Combined with scholarship programs across Canada the co-op housing sector has awarded over $1.78 million to students who live in housing co-ops. We are proud to invest in our young members (and others who may be returning to school) and supporting the next generation of co-op leaders.
Learn more about past scholarship recipients.
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Aaron Webster
When we created the CHF BC Scholarship Fund, we decided to name one of the first scholarships after Aaron Webster.
Aaron Webster was the victim of a hate crime. He was killed because he was gay and for no other reason. This tragedy affected many of us deeply, because at the time of his death, Aaron was the president of his housing co-op. Not long after Aaron’s death, CHF BC established the Aaron Webster Memorial Fund in the hope of using it in some way to celebrate our diversity as a co-op housing movement. This is the seed that grew into our Scholarship Fund, and each year we name one of our scholarships the Aaron Webster Memorial Scholarship to acknowledge those roots.
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Eligibility
To be eligible for a CHF BC Scholarship, an applicant must:
- Live in a CHF BC member housing co-op
- Plan to attend, or already attend, a Canadian, publicly-funded, accredited college, university or government-approved apprenticeship program on a full-time basis
- Be making a positive contribution to their school, co-op, or community
- Demonstrate financial need
Scholarships are awarded for undergraduate studies only.
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Scholarship Details
Each scholarship is worth up to $5,000 and is awarded in multiple years: $2,000 in the first year of study and then $1,000 a year for up to three more years.
Each year an online fillable application is posted in February. Submission deadline is early March. The application provides a checklist of documentation you will need to submit with your application. Scholarships are awarded annually at the CHF BC SAGM in May. Each year we recruit an independent review committee so that the selection of scholarship recipients won’t be made by CHF BC staff or directors.
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Applying
The application deadline for CHF BC’s 2020 Scholarships is March 2, 2020.
If you have any questions, please contact Fiona Jackson at fjackson@chf.bc.ca or 604-343-2353 (toll-free 1-866-879-5111 ext. 139).
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Scholarship Committee
Each year we recruit an independent review committee so that the selection of scholarship recipients won’t be made by CHF BC staff or directors.
We acknowledge the many hours that the Scholarship Committee members put into the selection of each year’s scholarship winners. Sitting on the review committee is a serious commitment, involving many hours of work, and our committee members take it very seriously.
Thank you for your outstanding work over the last few years: Grant Haddock (Haddock & Company), Mandeep Sidhu (Vancity), Andrew Kim (The YES), Sara Hyde (formerly of the YES Camp), Anika Vassell (a 2015 scholarship recipient) and Lilian Chau (Vancity).
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Scholarship Donations
We welcome your support. More donations to the program will allow us to further expand the number of scholarships we can offer talented students living in our housing co-ops.
Please note that donations are not tax-deductible.