Our donors are as diverse as the students they support, and each has a special reason for giving to the Holland College Foundation. We are grateful for the many individuals, businesses and organizations, community leaders, industry partners, and corporations who make the world of difference to our students.
We are proud to recognize our donors on our Donor Wall, located in the McMillan Centre for Community Engagement on the Prince of Wales Campus in Charlottetown.
We invite you to learn about a few of our many donors and each of their unique inspirations for giving.
Ken and Alison Ann Heckbert have established an endowment at the Holland College Foundation to fund an award for future Holland College students. Funded through the endowment and valued at approximately $1,000 annually in perpetuity, the Heckbert Family Entrance Award will be available to incoming student athletes beginning in the fall of 2023. Continued here
In this picture: (L – R) Alison Ann and Ken Heckbert, Holland College Foundation donors; student in the Sport and Recreation Management program and member of the women’s basketball team, Karlita Benitez; and Kent Scales, Holland College Foundation Board Chair in front of the McMillan Centre for Community Engagement on the Prince of Wales Campus.
Students entering the Culinary Arts program at Holland College can now apply for a new $5,000 entrance bursary. The bursary is in memory of Chef Linda Hellingman, a talented and esteemed chef who, at the time of her passing in 2021, was a much-loved instructor at The Culinary Institute of Canada (CIC).
The bursary was established by Linda’s family as a testament to her deep commitment and support to students who demonstrated an enthusiasm for culinary arts. Continued here
Students of Indigenous descent entering their first year of study in the two-year Culinary Arts program or entering the one-year Pastry Arts program are now eligible to apply for a full-tuition award established by Chef Michael Smith and Chastity Smith, proprietors of The Inn at Bay Fortune. Continued here
The Board of Directors for Charlotte and Stamper Residences recently established an endowment at the Holland College Foundation to fund an annual award to recognize the retirement of their long-time leader, Joyce Pickles.
A registered nurse who served more than three decades as matron in charge of both Charlotte and Stamper Residences in Charlottetown, Joyce Pickles retired on January 5, 2022. The Joyce Pickles Leadership Award will be funded through the endowment, and will be available to students entering the Resident Care Worker program at Holland College starting in the fall of 2022. Continued here
In this picture: Joyce Pickles (left), and Co-Chairs of the Board of Directors for Charlotte and Samper Residences, Gordon Babineau and Linda Evans.
BMO Private Wealth recently made a $25,000 gift to the Holland College Foundation, which will provide students with access to advanced music technology. The gift, designated for the School of Performing Arts, will upgrade the Music Performance program lab from its current PC set up to an Apple iMac lab complete with industry-grade music recording software. Students will learn to compose, arrange, and record on industry-leading technology, empowering them to be self-sufficient in their creative endeavours.
In this picture: Holland College President Dr. Alexander (Sandy) MacDonald and Holland College Foundation Board Member and Vice-President, BMO Nesbitt Burns Adam Balderston accept a $25,000 cheque from Greg Chaisson, Market Leader and Vice-President, New Brunswick and PEI, and Marc Champoux, Atlantic Regional President. Continued here
In 2021, Tim and Joanne Callahan made a $50,000 gift commitment to the Holland College Foundation to establish the Marie Callahan Memorial Awards for Practical Nursing in memory of Tim’s mother, whose life’s work was in the nursing field. The first awards were given in the fall of 2021, and two awards, valued at $5,000 each, will be available annually. (In this picture: Marie Callahan) Continued here
Over the years, Barbara Aucoin Wood has established endowments to fund awards at Holland College in memory of her father, her mother, and her husband. In December 2021, she made a further endowment investment and created a fourth award, this time in her own name.
“In reflecting on what would be meaningful to me, I realized that my family and I have received excellent and compassionate care by paramedics on more than one occasion over the years,” said Barbara. “As an expression of gratitude, I chose to invest in the next generation of paramedics by creating the Barbara Aucoin Wood Award for Paramedicine.” Continued here
Lou MacEachern knows first-hand the value of an education. Growing up in Hazel Grove, P.E.I., he started on the same path many of his generation did on the Island in the ‘40s, and left school at a young age to help run the family farm. Pursuing an education was always on his mind though, and in 1956 he returned to Queen Charlotte School in Charlottetown as what is now known as a ‘mature student’. In those days there weren’t many people Lou’s age returning to school. Continued here
Thanks to the generosity of Jamie and Tracy Hill, single parents enrolled in a full-time Holland College program who have the responsibility of supporting dependant children now have access to a significant new bursary at Holland College. Invested as an endowment at the Holland College Foundation, the Hill family’s $100,000 gift celebrates a shared recognition by Jamie, Tracy, and their family of the importance of a post-secondary education. Continued here
Regis and Joan have been generously supporting Holland College through the Holland College Foundation since 2009. They are tremendous community benefactors, with education and the arts holding particularly special places in their hearts. Continued here
