Student life is hard: homework, managing your time with friends and family, and possibly even juggling a part-time job while trying to keep your grades up. Surely adding in a global pandemic didn’t help, and it certainly might have taken away an important milestone for many: graduation ceremonies. Every year since 2014, Interior Savings employees have had the pleasure of shaking the hands of hundreds of grade 12 graduates in the Okanagan and Thompson regions who will receive a $1000 bursary from our organization. That’s something we will sincerely miss this year, but it hasn’t stopped us from continuing our pledge to support up to 1000 of our members as they begin their journey into post secondary education. Again, hats off to them for taking this giant, and exciting next step in life.
You hear about those students who are exceeding expectations, taking on extra curriculars, volunteering or being the best athletes. However, our 2019/2020 Millions Dollar Bursary applicants have done something just as awesome, they have taken responsibility for their finances at a young age. We want to see our student members succeed by giving them a hand with tuition and helping them develop financial smarts as they start this next chapter.
This week we let 618 students know they were approved for a $1000 bursary through our Million Dollar Bursary Program! In light of COVID-19, we also extended the qualification period to mid-August (and loosened the eligibility criteria) for another 161 students who may now need a bit more time to qualify.
The start of 2020 has been difficult for many families, so we’re especially happy to be able to share this good news with our student members. We wish all our students a safe, socially-distanced summer and best of luck with their upcoming studies. We’ve got this!
Other Bursaries We Support:
- Us, and many other Credit Union’s across BC contribute to the Credit Union of BC Foundation to help those in financial need. There are two awards per year and Credit Union members can be eligible to receive both! Check out: https://cufoundation.org/student-application/ to see if you qualify. The next deadline to apply is June 15.
- In collaboration with UBCO, TRU and Okanagan College we offer 6 bursaries to those who are already enrolled in school. Three of these are Lifelong Learner Bursaries, awarded to mature students who have returned to school after taking at least a year off. Visit the awards office of these schools for more information on how to apply.