Indspire says it’s former President and CEO Roberta Jamieson has donated a cash prize award given to her to create a new bursary for Indigenous students.
Jamieson donated the 2020 Lynn Factor Stand Up For Kids Award from the Children’s Aid Foundation to Indspire. The newly created $50,000.00 Dudah Cares (DML) Bursary will be managed and distributed through Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries, Scholarships, and Awards program, and the amount will be matched by funds from the Government of Canada.
“Every Indigenous child enters this world with unique gifts and talents,” says Jamieson. “This bursary will support those who face particular challenges, enabling them to share their gifts, to realize their potential, and to soar.”
Preference will be given to Indigenous post-secondary students who have been raised by their grandparents or extended family, to students who have been in the foster care system.
It will also go to support students studying in fields that support children’s mental health such as child and family services, child and youth care, child and youth counseling, and child studies.
“The creation of the Dudah Cares (DML) Bursary symbolizes Roberta Jamieson’s ongoing determination to create systemic change for Indigenous youth and to establish equal access to educational opportunities that will not only change the lives of students, but their families, communities, and Canada,” said Indspire in an announcement on the bursary.